From Where We Began
by movingmidnight
Summary: 8 years after her mysterious resurrection Terra remembers everything; the Titans, Slade, even the calcification of her own body. But 8 years is a long time to go without speaking to someone; especially if you're looking to ask them a favor.
1. Chapter 1

Raven had never believed she would see her again; or even if she did, that she would be remembered. Beast Boy told them that all her memories had been lost. After everyone else had stopped listening to the story about her; about how she spoke the same, smelled the same, even smiled the same; Raven still listened. Beast Boy had suffered a strange form of heartbreak after his encounter with her and Raven felt obligated to let him voice it. Raven listened to him as if he were talking about another world.

Raven never believed that other world would materialize in the middle of a coffee shop years later.

"Hi."

Raven's head snapped up and her heart dropped into her stomach. Beast Boy hadn't been kidding. It was her.

"Hello." Raven replied, cursing at the tone of surprise in her own voice.

"I'm sorry." Familiar blue eyes blinked in embarrassment. "I just thought…you are alone aren't you?"

Raven stared hard at her, "You know how much I prefer to be alone."

There was a moment of hesitation; Raven could see the pressure to keep up the pretense in her stance, but they both knew it was too late. Her shoulders shagged as she gave up trying.

"Yeah, I do know." She nodded, "Which is why I came over. The others aren't really the coffee-shop-type."

Raven's eyes narrowed. After all this time, after all the things that had transpired between them, now she chose to try and reenter into their lives? She singled Raven out in public to what? Catch-up? A subtle rage rippled beneath her skin and Raven clenched her fingers to keep it in check.

"I'm leaving." Raven snapped her book shut and stood-up, "Have a nice life, Terra."

"My memories came back a month ago." Terra blurted out with wide eyes.

Raven turned back, "What?"

Terra sighed and sat down on the table in front of the chair Raven had vacated, "Last month, my geology lab took a field trip to the tunnels beneath the city; the ones I made. And we found our way down to the one where…where I died."

Terra bit her lip, strong emotions still spilling out at memory of her death. Raven felt a twinge of sympathy replace the frustration she had experienced earlier. Placing her book down on the arm of the chair and crossing her arms, Raven gave her a nod to continue.

"Well, remembering the fact that I died reminded me of everything up to that point. Started crying right in the middle of lab; my professor thought I was having a panic attack from being underground. That's ironic isn't it?" Raven received one of those very familiar and somehow very painful smiles "Me, afraid of being underground."

"So, when Beast Boy found you…" Raven started.

"I wasn't lying to him. I wasn't Terra anymore; I was a girl who landed with some very nice foster parents. No past, no memory, and no powers."

"And now?" Raven raised an eyebrow, "Did your powers come back with your memory?"

"I can't even make sand shake." Terra shook her head.

Slowly, Raven sat back down in her seat. She tried getting a read on Terra. It had been years since Beast Boy spotted her, and it had been two years before that since her death; everything in regards to security in the Tower had changed. Relationships within the Tower itself had changed; Robin and Starfire were together, Cyborg split his time between Jump and Titans East, and Beast Boy… Well Raven didn't want to consider where Beast Boy's attentions had been leaning of late.

Talking to Raven now wouldn't give Terra any advantage to betraying them again. And based on the feeling of apprehension that flooded into their shared space, Terra wasn't looking to reconcile.

"Why did you approach me?" Raven asked finally.

Terra bit her lip again, "I'm afraid that my powers might eventually come back. I think I used them all on taking Slade down, but I can't be sure."

"Again, why approach me?" Raven pressed, "Any of the others would have helped you if your powers resurfaced, especially…"

Terra cut her off. "It would hurt him to know that I remember now."

"He misses you." Raven said, "He would want to know."

"He doesn't know me anymore. I'm a super-senior at UJC; I eat dinner every Tuesday night with my foster parents, I even go to church if a friend drags me there. I'm not his Terra anymore." Terra ran a hand through her hair and sighed to reassure herself of her stance, "I have a whole new life that doesn't include him anymore. And I love it, but it would hurt him to not be a part of it."

"You could make him a part of it." Raven pointed out, though she didn't understand why she did. Perhaps she was hoping she could dump this drama into Beast Boy's lap instead. He seemed a far more appropriate option.

Terra let out a dry laugh, "I've already been struggling for the last month with figuring out what's different between the old me and the current me. I don't need him trying to tell me who I am like the last time he saw me. I just needed to tell someone."

"Someone who knows the old you." Raven clarified.

"And someone who will keep my memory a secret from Beast Boy and respects the fact I have my own life." Terra added.

A weird combination of shame and relief threaded through the air around them. Both emanating from Terra. Raven realized that she had truly thought this through. She could have found Robin, but he would keep tabs on her, she could tell Starfire and then find herself forced back into a relationship with the alien, Cyborg wouldn't be able to keep the truth from Beast Boy, so that left Raven. It was for the best, Raven decided. She could keep this secret, for all of their sakes.

"I won't tell him or anyone else." Raven said finally, "And if your powers do come back I can help you with controlling them again."

"Really?" Terra breathed in disbelief, a smiled spreading across her face.

"Better than you going off and finding some other psychopath to teach you." Raven replied cooly.

Terra laughed voicelessly, "Yeah that would be better. Thank you."

There was a warm smile and then Terra left, knowing she should socialize. Afterall, if her powers never resurfaced, they could both pretend this encounter never happened. Her blonde hair swayed as she maneuvered her way out of the coffee shop. Raven watched through a window until Terra disappeared down the street. After a few minutes of absently staring at the street, Raven returned to her book, mindlessly scanning the words as she considered the task she had taken on.

A few days later the Titans were picking through their fan mail, Raven scanning the fading auras of hers in order to avoid the more creepy letters she was prone to getting. She mostly opened the ones written in crayon or the ones made with gothic stationary; those were the ones that were the most rewarding to read. One fan letter stuck out in particular; clean, white, and with the UJC logo printed on the back. Raven chose to wait until she was alone to open it.

 _Raven,_

 _I'm going to be at the Mud House again on Thursday (the 13_ _th_ _). In case you're also going to be there._

 _-T_

 _P.S. Oh, and there's no power problems or anything. Probably should have mentioned that first. Sorry!_


	2. Chapter 2

Her fingers twitched, which they only did when she was nervous. Raven didn't like being nervous. It was one of those few emotions that managed to undermine her control no matter how much she had meditated. Nervous usually meant lightbulbs shattering and overturned furniture. Nervous was not a good thing to be in public.

Yet here she was, her nervous fingers gripping a paper cup filled with tea. It was Thursday the 13th, and she had no idea when Terra had actually asked her to meet. The very secretive letter that she had sent included no time; just a date and place. Raven had debated with herself all week if she should go. It was hard enough to not tell the others about the initial meeting with Terra, now she felt as if she were actually conspiring against them. Raven's fingers twitched again.

The coffee shop only opened an hour or so ago, so it was still very early in the day. It still didn't stop Raven from looking up every time the door opened. The eleventh time she looked up without any success she started to curse herself and her nerves. Raven was starting to worry that she would be sitting there all day.

"Hi, waiting long?"

Raven glared at Terra as she slid into the seat in front of her "You should really tell someone when you're going to meet them."

"I did, I said 8:30." Terra looked confused.

Raven pulled out the letter and handed it to her.

"Oh." Terra muttered as she scanned it. "I'm so sorry. I could have sworn I wrote down 8:30, see I've got a class at 12 and I figured this gave us time and…I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." Raven told her before taking a sip of tea. "Just be glad I'm an early riser."

"Yeah, I remembered that much." Terra grinned and handed the letter back.

"So, why did you want to meet?"

"Always straight to the point." Terra noted, pushing back a strand of hair, "I had some questions."

Raven crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, "If it's anything about Beast Boy or the others…"

"No, no!" Terra practically lunged across the table and lowered her voice to a whisper, "It's about me. It's about how I…came back to life. I still don't know how that happened."

Raven blinked, "That's it?"

"That's it." Terra nodded settling back into her chair. "Now that I know I was brought back, I need to know if someone did it on purpose. I don't want to be a pawn again."

"I don't know." Raven told her honestly, staring at her tea.

Terra's face fell, "You don't?"

"No, when Beast Boy recognized you, we investigated your cave; your statue was gone, but it wasn't anything we did. Nothing Cyborg or I tried ever worked." She admitted.

Raven felt a cool hand cover hers, looking up she saw Terra biting her lip. She didn't try to take her hand back, sensing the mixture of sad gratitude slipping from Terra's fingers into hers.

"You tried to bring me back?" Terra asked.

"You were our friend," Raven replied, "Of course we tried."

Terra's hand squeezed hers before retracting it all together. Raven noticed she was biting her lip again and decided it was time to put the subject to rest.

"I doubt someone brought you back for something insidious; if they were going to use you they would have done it already." She reassured.

"You're probably right." Terra nodded.

The conversation died between them. Raven had no more information to give her and Terra didn't have much to offer either. Raven began to wonder why she remained seated instead of leaving when their business concluded. When Raven glanced away from her tea again Terra was staring at the bakery display.

"The food here tastes like cardboard." Raven warned.

Terra let out a small groan and rested her head on her hand and continued to stare at the confections, "Yeah, but right now it's more a matter of convenience."

Raven was amused, "Still have a gargantuan appetite?"

Terra nodded with enthusiasm; still staring at the counter, "Especially when I've been awake for 4 hours already."

Raven frowned a little, "Why?"

"I was nervous." Terra glanced back, "I kept thinking how you might not come, and if you did, it would be to yell at me for contacting you about something other than my powers."

Raven smiled a little at that. At least she hadn't been the only one to be nervous. She noticed the relief relaying between them as the conversation resurrected itself into something more pleasant.

"There's a place a block over that makes great waffles, if you're hungry." Raven offered.

She had Terra's full attention then. Terra stood up, snatched up her purse, and grabbed Raven by the wrist.

"Let's go. Please."

Raven felt herself pulled from her seat, her tea forgotten on the table as Terra led them out onto the street. Walking over to the breakfast place the conversation changed to Terra's school. Raven learned that she was getting a degree in exercise science with a minor in psychology. The only reason she was taking geology now was to replace a science credit she had flunked in her freshman year.

"I need it in order to finally graduate." Terra said as they were seated, "Being a super-senior sucks."

"And when you do graduate?" Raven asked, surprised to learn that she was actually interested in Terra's new life. Current Terra seemed…different from old Terra, and Raven's curiosity was getting the better of her. "What's your plan then?"

"Well, I was planning on trying my luck somewhere else, but with getting my memories back and all; I kinda feel like I have unfinished business here, you know? Like I've got to put what I've learned to good use before I can move on."

Raven nodded, "I can understand that."

They ordered and talked more about Terra's life. Raven remained guarded about anything to do with the Tower or those who lived there. That subject remained too raw, but slowly they began to talk about Raven too.

"Mmk, if I had to guess: your favorite color is still blue, you still use lavender everything, and still secretly love iced tea." Terra guessed.

"1 out of 3 isn't bad." Raven smirked.

Terra pouted, "Well which one is it? You couldn't have changed that much."

"You don't have much room to talk." Raven looked at her pointedly.

Terra shrugged and their food arrived, with a can of whip cream that Terra promptly emptied onto her strawberry-banana deluxe pancakes.

"I see the sweet-tooth hasn't gone away." Raven noticed.

Terra swallowed, "I like what I like."

They grew quiet as they ate. Raven enjoyed the silence and found comfort in the fact that Terra didn't try to break it. Terra had really changed, when they were younger Terra couldn't stand to be quiet; maybe it was all that time alone with her own thoughts that made her crave the near-constant chaos that was Titans Tower. Raven realized that even though this wasn't the same Terra from before; it was certainly one she liked better.

As they were leaving, Raven asked, "Do you want to do this next Thursday?"

Terra's head tilted to the side, "Wait, really?"

"I don't ask twice, Terra." Raven warned.

"Okay!" Terra beamed with pleasant surprise, "Same time same place?"

"Sure." Raven nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

Five weeks had gone by. Every Thursday at 8:30 Raven found herself at the breakfast place sitting across a table from Terra. It was surreal before and after; when it hit her that she was meeting Terra of all people, but during said meetings, it was natural. Conversation was easy and the silences were comfortable; Raven's fingers didn't twitch.

Raven stepped into the diner for the 6th time and found Terra at their usual table. With a sigh she slumped into her chair. It had been a long night.

"Hi there." Terra greeted, "Isn't it a little dangerous to be wearing the uniform out to breakfast?"

Raven glanced down and noticed that she was still in her uniform; usually she wore civies to meet Terra since there was no point in attracting attention to meetings with someone the others weren't supposed to know about. Sighing again she unclasped her cloak and draped it over the back of her chair.

"I just got off patrol; no time to go back and change." Raven explained.

"Tea?" Terra offered sliding a steaming mug towards her.

She took it with gratitude, taking a long drink from it despite the heat, "Thank you."

"No problem. Rough night?" Terra asked.

Raven nodded distractedly as she focused on her tea, "Very."

"Um, Rae?" Terra tapped the back of Raven's hand, "People are staring."

Rolling her eyes she muttered a spell under her breath. Terra watched as people around them blinked in confusion and returned to their own business. She looked at Raven with a smirk.

"What did you just do?"

Raven shrugged, but returned the smirk, "To everyone else I have black hair and freckles; and a striking resemblance to that Raven girl from the Titans."

Terra erupted into giggles. Raven's lips pursed into a small smile. Terra had a nice genuine laugh, not unlike those times when Cyborg and Beast Boy pulled off a good prank on Robin and everyone began to laugh. It was happy and familiar and Raven enjoyed hearing it. Once Terra got her breath back she grinned at Raven and was practically jumping in her seat.

"Guess who finishes her last final of her college career today?" Terra prompted.

"Who?" Raven played along.

"Me!" She cheered, "One more stupid exam and then I'm done and then all I have to worry about is graduation."

Raven nodded and sipped her tea, knowing that Terra would keep going with or without further comment.

"I'm so stressed. My foster parents are insisting I find more graduation tickets for my foster siblings. I have sooo many foster siblings; have I told you how many I have?"

"Six." Raven answered.

"Exactly! So, even though I'm only allowed 4 tickets and now I need twice that before Saturday. I still have to figure out what I'm going to wear for the actual ceremony; it has to be easy to put on because after the track team takes me out on Friday I'm going to have the biggest hangover ever. Oh, and once the ceremony is over I will be whisked off to my graduation party; where I will have to pretend I am not hung over and how my life is definitely put together and not the mess that it is. Have you ever been apartment shopping? It's the worst."

"Sounds like you'll be busy." Raven replied.

"Yep." Terra sighed and downed her coffee, "So, how's your life? Besides the graveyard shift?"

Raven shook her head, "Nothing much; though Robin is thinking of changing his name."

Terra raised an eyebrow, "To what? Bird Man?"

"Nightwing."

"What the hell is a 'Nightwing'?" Terra asked.

Raven shrugged, "Starfire went to the future once and she said that the Robin she met there was called Nightwing."

Terra rolled her eyes and grinned, "Oh well, as long as Starfire came up with it. Is he still carrying around that ring?"

"Unfortunately," Raven said running her finger around the rim of her mug, "And now Beast Boy knows, so it's only a matter of time before he ruins the surprise."

There was an odd silence from the opposite side of the table and it made Raven uneasy. Terra's aura had changed sometime between now and the last time she spoke. She watched as Terra nervously twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"Is there something wrong?" Raven asked.

"You don't really mention Beast Boy." Terra explained, twirling another strand, "I just didn't know why."

Raven pressed her lips together before answering, "I didn't know if you wanted to know. Given your history with him."

Terra shrugged and stopped twirling, "He was my best friend from those days. The first person to believe in me."

"He's okay." Raven reassured, "Just as immature and ridiculous as you remember him."

"You never gave him enough credit." Terra scolded her.

Raven rolled her eyes, "You always gave him too much."

Terra's eyebrows scrunched together, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean you two had the most obnoxious crushes on each other." Raven replied, "It was sickening, Cyborg and Starfire had a running pool on which one of you would confess your love first."

Terra stared at her for a moment and then broke down into complete and consuming laughter. Raven watched in slight horror as the blonde struggled to breathe through all the giggles. Terra had to lay her head down on the table for support.

"Did I miss something?" Raven asked.

"N-no." Terra forced out, "It's just….It's just…"

Raven rested her head in her hand, "Don't worry, I got a full night's sleep, so I'm definitely patient enough for this."

Terra swallowed the rest of her laughter, "Um sorry. It's just funny, because sometime after I was revived…I realized that girls…are really pretty."

"You're into women?" Raven simplified, her head lifting up from her hand. "That's new."

Terra turned sheepish and started examining the contents of the table; fiddling with the jelly packets, "It's not something I spread around you know? Not everyone is cool with it."

When Raven didn't respond right away Terra peered up at her, "Are you cool with it?"

"I'm cool with it." Raven nodded towards the jelly packet in Terra's hand, "You can stop strangling the jelly now."

"Oh…Oops." Terra dropped it back onto the table. "So, please save me from embarrassing myself more and talk about why your night was so awful."

"But I'm having so much fun." Raven smirked, relaxing as Terra's aura settled back into its usual state.

Terra stuck her tongue out at her, "Mean."

"Tough." Raven told her.

Food arrived soon after that which started their new yet familiar argument about Terra ordering for both of them.

"I can order my own food."

"And I can save time by ordering before you get here."

"How can you even know what I want?"

"You order the same thing every time!"

"I do not."

"Do so!"

It was perfectly childish and petty, but that didn't bother Raven much. In fact, days like today made Raven feel relieved when there was a hot mug of tea waiting for her. Not that Terra needed to know that. It was much more fun to see Terra's eyes flash with fake annoyance.

They dug into their breakfast, but Raven felt the lack of sleep hit her once her food settled in her stomach. Slowly, she lost focus and the ability to even lift her fork up from the table.

"You look like you're about to fall asleep." Terra's voice grabbed her attention back.

"I am." Raven muttered, "I think I should head back to the Tower."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Terra stood up and moved to Raven's side of the table. "I mean, it's on the other side of town."

"I'll manage." Raven waved her off and stood up herself, "I'm a big girl."

Raven could feel Terra's concern pressing against her senses, but Raven couldn't focus on that right now. Grabbing her cloak, she put a steadying hand on Terra's shoulder.

"Sorry to skip out on you again."

Terra smiled at her, "I'll let you off the hook; since you save lives and stuff."

Raven nodded and moved to leave, but Terra stopped her again.

"Just wait a second." She said, rummaging through her purse and emerging with a slip of paper.

"What's this?" Raven asked as Terra pushed it into her hand.

"An invitation to that graduation party I was talking about." Terra informed her with a shrug, "You don't have to come, but my cell's on the back and I'd like you to text me once you get back safe."

"You've become a worrywart." Raven admonished gently. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I worry about all of my friends. Comes with the territory."

Raven pursed her lips at the use of the word 'friends'. It was the first time in years that she had felt the actual weight of that word in regards to herself and Terra. Raven wasn't sure what to make of it; it wasn't inaccurate, but it just didn't fit right.

"Okay. I'll let you know I got back safely." Raven conceded.

"Good!" Terra grinned and sat back down, "Can I have what's left of your waffles?"

"Yes." Raven rolled her eyes.

Concentrating, Raven entered the void and found herself in Titans Tower a few seconds later. Saying a quick hello to the others in the common room, Raven went straight to her room. She fell into her bed and before she closed her eyes, she texted Terra.

 _Home. Good luck with the exam._


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks!_

 _I'm done I'm done I'm done I'm done I'm done_

 _Packing sucks. Don't ever do it._

 _Drinking is good. Do that._

 _So do you think you'll be coming today?_

Raven stared at the messages. The first four had been statements, they didn't warrant a response. Not to mention some of them had come in during training or an alert, and Raven wasn't exactly in the mood to text a girl she was secretly meeting when anyone could look over her shoulder and start asking questions.

However, alone in her room with the communicator in one hand and the invitation in the other; she wasn't sure what to respond. She glanced at the invitation; she could make it, Robin hadn't scheduled any training for this afternoon. She could sneak out of the tower, slink off to the address, stand around for an hour or so, and then slink back to the tower without any other titans being the wiser. She could do it, easily.

And yet, her fingers were twitching.

Meeting for a weekly breakfast was one thing. That she could explain away, saying that it was a preemptive measure to make sure Terra's powers weren't returning. If the breakfast secret got out, the others would be annoyed, but that would be the extent of their frustration. Raven didn't think she could create a reasonable excuse for going to Terra's graduation party; that's something that only real friends did.

Her fingers twitched the communicator open and without a second thought typed out:

 _I'll be there._

She dropped the communicator onto the mattress and stood up. Just as she opened her closet the communicator beeped. She hesitated for a moment, but gave in and reached for it. Terra had replied.

 _Oh so your fingers do work! ;)_

Raven glared at the communicator as if it were Terra. She could even picture the look on the blonde's face as she teased her. Raven decided that this was something she should respond to.

 _Don't you have to go graduate?_

She went back to looking for civies to wear, but the beeping began again.

 _Ceremony's almost over. I've got my diploma and everything._

Raven rolled her eyes; picturing Terra on her phone in a sea of caps and gowns, being the rudest person there.

 _Stop texting me and finish graduating._

Raven tossed the communicator away and went back to finding something to wear. The beeping continued and Raven did her best to ignore it. She just finished changing into jeans and a black t-shirt when the 8th beep sounded. Glaring again, she checked it.

 _That's no fun_

 _You know what is fun though?_

 _Texting you, and possibly annoying you_

 _I remember that was a lot of fun back in the day_

 _You always took it out on poor BB._

 _Which meant I could annoy you even more_

 _Now that I think about it, you were playing favorites_

 _Was I your favorite, Rae?_

Raven glared at the screen and actively ignored the burning in her cheeks. She practically mashed the buttons as she typed out her reply.

 _No one is my favorite. I hate everyone._

Terra's reply was almost instant.

 _And you eat sheet metal for dinner_

Raven smirked and was gentle with the buttons this time.

 _Don't forget the souls on the side_

She sat down on her bed and waited for the reply. It took Terra ten minutes to text back.

 _I've officially graduated and become a struggling adult. I'll see you in an hour?_

Raven nodded even though Terra couldn't see her and typed out a quick yes in response. She drummed her fingers against her knee, but they didn't twitch.

Terra went by Melanie Marakov in her new life. Raven fought against the habit of calling her Terra in front of everyone at her foster family's home. She knew about the new name; Terra had mentioned it and it was printed on the invitation, but it was still strange.

"You know, Jim has an office upstairs if you need a breather." Terra leaned in towards her ear, "I know crowds can be a lot for you."

"Maybe later." Raven replied taking a sip of punch.

The two of them were sitting in lawn chairs under the only tree in the backyard. Raven had cast another glamor charm and was officially Melanie's new friend Rachel; with black hair and freckles. They were flanked by Terra's friends from the track team; all tall, leggy, gorgeous girls. To Raven it was like having a cook-out with several Starfires.

"What are you and your girlfriend whispering about, Mel?" One of her friends teased.

Terra poked her tongue out at her, "Jealous, Shonda?"

"Oh, please," Shonda laughed and looked towards Raven, "I'd pity you before I was jealous of you. Mel's a handful."

"Really? I heard she was more of a fistful." Raven gave her a fake simpering smile.

Terra's friends howled in laughter. Raven took pride in the red that stained Terra's face and the indignant flash in her eyes. The redhead next to Shonda spoke up next.

"Where did you find this girl?" She asked between giggles.

"The gutter." Terra glared at Raven.

Raven shrugged and settled into her chair and only contributed when someone else dragged her into the conversation. They were interested in her, mostly because they thought she was Terra's new girlfriend, but Raven thought they were nice, if pushy. A little like Bumble Bee or Speedy from Titans East.

"Okay, so what do you do? Are you going to UJC?" One of them asked.

"I'm an EMT." Raven told her usual cover story, "I'm actually on call tonight."

"Aw!" Shonda frowned, "That means you can't join us for drinking later."

"Why are we drinking again? I'm still recovering from last night!" Terra interjected.

"Last night was to celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives and tonight is to mourn the death of our optimism." A brunette named Laura explained.

"Oh, well by all means let's drink." Terra agreed with a laugh.

Raven sipped her punch again. The more vocal this group got the more tempting Jim's office sounded. She leaned over to ask Terra where it was exactly when the communicator started going off.

"They calling you in so soon?" Shonda asked.

"Unfortunately," Raven said, reaching in her bag and silencing the alert before any of Terra's friends could catch a peek at the tell-tale communicator.

"I'll walk you out." Terra stood up.

Her friends teased her about being so proper with her lady friend, but Terra quickly walked Raven back through the house towards the front door.

"Do you need to change before you go?" Terra asked.

Raven shook her head, "I'll find out what the alert is first."

"Well, thanks for coming." Terra gave her a sad smile, "Sorry you had to leave so soon."

"Me too." Raven agreed.

Terra tugged on a strand of hair, "Let me know when you're home safe?"

Raven restrained herself from rolling her eyes, "Yes."

"Thanks, and thanks for coming, again." Terra added.

"No problem." Raven said as she walked out the front door.

Terra twirled a strand of hair while she watched Raven walk down the street, pulling her communicator and cloak out of her bag. After Raven surveyed the area to make sure no one was looking, Raven stepped into one of her portals and disappeared.

Her communicator was ringing. Not beeping, not sounding an alert, but ringing; incessantly. Raven had been asleep and now she was not. She made a blind grab for the communicator in the dark. Once she managed to flip it open she had tangled herself in her sheets and her upper half was hanging off the side of the bed.

"Who the hell is this?" Raven answered angrily.

A girlish giggle greeted her, "Hi."

"Terra?" Raven groaned as she tried to right herself on the bed, "Why are you calling me?"

"You never told me you got home safe." Raven could almost hear the pouting.

"Yes I did. I texted you as soon as I got back. And as soon as I texted you I went to sleep, because it's 3 in the morning." Raven grouched at her.

"Sorry, I just, wanted to be e-extra suuure." Terra slurred, "You superhero tips can't be too sure."

Raven narrowed her eyes, "Did you drunk dial me?"

"Welllll I've had a margarita or two." Terra told her, slurring more.

"Welllll hang up and you can go have more and I can go back to sleep."

"No! I have to thank you for coming to the party earlier." Terra asserted.

"You thanked me, twice." Raven reminded her.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you were actually going to go! And then you did! Yaaaay! And you were really funny and nice and I didn't know you could be." Terra hiccupped before she continued, "I-I mean you're funny and you're nice to people you know and you like, but you don't know Shonda."

"You're right, I don't know Shonda." Raven nodded along and settled against her pillows.

"YEAH." Terra's voice rose momentarily, "You were nice to Shonda and everyone else. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Can I go back to bed?" Raven asked impatiently.

"Not yet!"

"What is it you want Terra?" Raven sighed.

Terra's voice became very small, "I'm really glad we're friends."

"What was that?"

Terra sighed, "I'm really glad we're friends okay?"

"Okay?" Raven blinked in confusion.

"I meeeean, I like having my friends and my family now; they're great, but it's also greeeat that I have you around because you know me from before and because of that my life feels…wholer." Terra started giggling again, "Wholer isn't a word is it?"

"No it's not." Raven told her, "But I get the concept."

"Good!" Terra cheered, "Do you wanna go back to sleep now?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay, well goodnight!" Raven didn't get a chance to return the sentiment before Terra hung-up.

Grumbling, Raven rolled over and put the ringer on her communicator on silent; just in case Terra had any ideas about calling again.


	5. Chapter 5

Standing in the middle of what could only be described as a crap-shack, Raven started to wonder what she was doing here. Out of all of the disgusting places that she had ever been, including the all the crack houses and sewer lairs criminals just loved, this place hit top ten. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed another rat scurry across the floor.

"You cannot live here." Raven informed Terra as she entered with another box.

Terra unleashed a dust cloud as her box hit the floor, "It just needs a new coat of paint."

"Or a demolition team." Raven muttered.

"Oh c'mon." Terra stepped into the middle of the room her arms stretched wide, "I used to live in caves; this is a palace in comparison to caves."

"Caves are cleaner, less likely to poison you slowly with asbestos or mold." Raven mentioned.

"Rae. This the only place I can afford right now." Terra reminded her.

Raven kicked an unidentified clump on the floor, "Funny thing about caves; you don't have to pay rent."

"You said you'd help." Terra looped her arm around Raven's shoulders.

"Remind me how that happened?" Raven started to mentally counting how many cracks she saw in the walls. There were fourteen.

"Oh, don't you know? We're dating!" Terra grinned at her, tugging Raven a little closer, "All of my friends are convinced that we are and what they say goes."

"That explains the lack of wooing." Raven nodded along absently, noting three more cracks she failed to count earlier.

"I'll get to the wooing later." Terra waved it off with a hand, "But it's totally a part of the girlfriend bylaws to help me settle into my new place."

"Anywhere in these fake girlfriend bylaws where I get to veto your new place?" Raven inquired, "Because you cannot live here."

Terra threw her other arm around Raven and pressed her face against her shoulder in a pathetic attempt to look cute and pitiful. Raven half-heartedly writhed against her hold, but Terra dug-in and the hug just got tighter.

"Rae, please just be my awesome fake girlfriend and help me clean this place up so I can set up my bed and have a place to sleep tonight." Terra mumbled into her shoulder. "Please?"

"You cannot beg your way into my approval. I eat sheet metal and souls three times a day."

Terra's laughter shook them both, "And fluffy, golden waffles."

"Are you offering fluffy, golden waffles?" Raven turned her head towards the blonde.

Terra nodded, "All of my beautiful fake girlfriends get them."

Raven rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the blatant flattery, "Fine."

"Yay! Thank you!" Terra gave her a quick squeeze and was back over by the box in a blink.

Soon she was tossing cleaning supplies to Raven and telling her that the first order of business was wiping off the windows and counters and then they'd get to the floor. Raven rolled her eyes, pulled her hair out of her face, and got to work. It took three rounds of cleaning spray and paper towels to get the grime off of the counters and Raven threatened to buy Terra a power-washer for the windows.

"It's fine." Terra huffed as she scrubbed them, "I won the state championship in cross-country twice; I can conquer these windows."

"Sure." Raven replied as she looked at the cabinets and sink with disdain.

Terra just grunted in response and they went back to working in silence. It was another hour until the kitchen was in a state that Raven found minimally acceptable and then she waited for Terra to finish up her last window.

"You missed a spot." Raven told her.

"What?" Terra whined the question, "Where?"

Raven gestured to the rest of the apartment and Terra narrowed her eyes at her.

"You aren't funny."

Raven half-smiled, "That's not what you drunkenly told me last week."

"I think it's time to start on the floor." Terra changed the subject.

Raven chuckled as she watched Terra fruitlessly sweep the floor. A few minutes later Raven decided to take pity and removed the broom from the blonde's hands and propped it up against the wall.

"Azarath Mentrion Zinthos."

A surge of shadows spread across the floor, washing away the dirt and filth in a single magical swoop of Raven's hand; revealing white-washed wood flooring. Raven pooled her magic and its gross contents into the one garbage can Terra had.

Terra put her hands on her hips. "You couldn't have done that sooner?"

Raven raised her hands again, her fingertips glowing, "I can put it back if you'd like."

"No!" Terra lunged forward and grabbed Raven's wrists and pulled her hands down to her sides, "It's perfect. Thank you."

"You're welcome, now let go." Raven told her with a stern look.

"Fine." Terra let go, turning around and admiring her new clean floors, "I always forget how convenient is to have powers."

"It's also troublesome." Raven reminded her as the magic seeped back into her being, "Every type has its catch."

"Yeah, I don't miss the aches." Terra agreed as she put cleaning supplies back in its box. "I remember I used to get these terrible pains. I'd be sitting around after moving a bunch of earth and suddenly my _bones_ would hurt."

"I didn't know that." Raven watched her as she put the box on one of the counter tops.

"Yeah, well… Slade told me not to tell you guys." Terra said softly.

Raven watched Terra as she gripped the edge of the box until her hands turned completely white and the cardboard buckled beneath the pressure. This was the most Terra had mentioned about the past since they met at the coffee shop. Before Raven had simply believed it was because they both knew what happened and there was no point to discussing it, but evidently, Terra still struggled with some of the details. Slowly, Raven approached her, gently prying her fingers away until they had nothing but Raven's hands to cling to.

"I almost wish I never remembered." She said in a hollow voice. "That I was just Melanie, normal girl, normal life."

Raven repositioned her fingers so they laced through Terra's. Comforting was never her strong suit, but she knew that Terra was a tactile person. She pulled Terra away from the counter and into her arms. The hug was awkward and Terra was stiff, either out of fear or because Raven was so horrible at hugs. She was about to pull away when Terra slipped her arms around Raven's waist and tucked her head into the crook of Raven's neck.

"You're a really great fake girlfriend." Terra muttered, holding tight.

"If you say so." Raven said softly.

"No, you really are." Terra pulled away to look her in the eye. "I mean, you don't hate me on sight, you come to my graduation party, and you're helping me move in. You're great."

Raven swallowed her rising feelings and retracted her arms from Terra all together, "No more hugs for you. You get all emotional."

Terra held up her hands in mock surrender, "No more emotions; From now on, I'm going to be an emotionless, scary half-demon who eats the soul of anyone who dares to smile or laugh…oh wait, the position is filled."

Raven turned on her heel and headed towards the door; calling over her shoulder, "That's it. We're fake breaking-up."

"Wait!" Terra jogged after her, giggling, "What about all the beautiful times we've had together? Remember the waffles and the wooing?"

After a fake lover's spat and a fake make-up, they moved in all of Terra's boxes and furniture. There were more fake lover's spats over where the furniture should go, when and for what Raven's magic should be used, and if there was a physical copy of the fake girlfriend bylaws. Eventually Raven was sent out for food while Terra was left to unpack by herself.

"I'm not sure why I had to go out and get my own waffles." Raven called as she reentered the apartment with two take-out boxes. "From what Cyborg told me, I am supposed to be treated to food and beer; not sent out like your errand girl."

Her complaints were in vain however when she noticed that Terra was passed-out on the futon sofa, a piece of bubble wrap still hanging limply in her hand. Raven rolled her eyes and slipped into the kitchen and deposited Terra's pancakes in the mini-fridge. All she could find was a sharpie to write with and the back of a Chinese take-out menu to write a note for when Terra woke up.

Placing the note on the crappy coffee table in front of the futon, Raven glanced one more time at Terra. Her hair was covering her face and her feet were still on the floor. Raven sighed and propped Terra's feet on the couch and pushed the hair back from her face. Terra hummed in her sleep.

Raven could have left then; her friend obligations completed, but instead she cleared a spot on the coffee table and sat down. She absently put aside her waffles and mused about how she got here.

It had almost been two months since she and Terra ran into each other at the coffee shop. Raven felt strangely about how close they had become in that time. She felt good about it overall; Terra was sweet and cheerful, but not overly-perky like Starfire. She was funny, but she didn't try too hard, she just was. Terra was good company. Raven would even dare admit to herself that Terra was a good friend.

Without thinking, Raven stroked Terra's hair before she left.


	6. Chapter 6

Starfire sat on Raven's bed, which she loved sitting on, as Raven almost never let people into her room. However, Starfire knew that the secret to entering Raven's room whenever she wanted was to pepper Raven with questions until she was too tired of evading her and felt obligated to invite Starfire in. Raven knew this was Starfire's strategy, but still hadn't found a way to counter it.

"Star, I really don't have time to chat." Raven had told her when she opened the door, "I have to get ready."

"Ready for what? Are you going out?" Starfire inquired. "Do you require assistance? Is it a special occasion? Or perhaps a special event?"

"No, I'm just going to dinner, now I have to go." Raven tried sliding the door shut, but Starfire and her alien super strength stopped her.

"Dinner? By yourself? Oh! Are you meeting someone? Is it that mysterious friend you won't tell us anything about?" Starfire pressed, edging the door open against Raven's pitiful attempts to close it.

"Star, I really have to get ready." Raven reiterated, knowing it was a losing battle.

"Oh may I please help you? You can tell me more about this friend. Are they nice? Have I met them? Why haven't you told us anything yet? Is it like your situation with Malchior? Is this friend cursed? Do you harbor deeper feelings for this person?"

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Would you like to come in?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Starfire had floated right past her and took a seat on the bed.

Raven went back to her closet and started sorting through her clothes in silence. She counted the seconds until Starfire piped-up again. Starfire survived a full four seconds.

"Are you not going to tell me about your friend?"

"I never said I was going to dinner with anyone." Raven replied as she unabashedly began to change into jeans.

"If you wished to have dinner alone you would eat here at the Tower." Starfire reasoned, "So who are you having dinner with?"

Raven rolled her eyes, "My mystery friend."

"And does this person have a name; or is their name simply 'Mystery'? Humans have such a variety of names to choose from."

Sighing after realizing the jeans were too tight in the thigh, Raven threw them across the room before answering, "Her name is Melanie."

"That's a lovely name." Starfire smiled, "Is this the same friend you meet for breakfast every Thursday?"

"Yes." Raven replied curtly.

"Is this dinner special then? If you are strictly breakfast friends?" Starfire asked, floating over to help Raven sort through clothes.

"No, I helped her move remember? This is just her paying me back." Raven said, spotting something that might fit, "Hand me those?"

"Certainly," Starfire affirmed, handing her a pair of black jeans before rummaging for a top.

"Thanks." Raven muttered as she pulled them on.

"Are you going to eat at a restaurant or are you going to eat at the street vendor cart?" Starfire asked as she filtered down Raven's options.

"She's making dinner." Raven replied.

"Ahh, so is this some form of date?" Starfire queried.

Before Raven could respond, a voice came echoing from the door, "Rae's got a date?"

Raven glared at the green intruder who was now entering her room, "No, now leave."

"Door was open!" Beast Boy grinned, plopping down on her bed, "Oh, this is a comfy bed."

Raven groaned and grabbed the scarlet tank-top Starfire held out for her. She ignored the perverted wolf-whistle that came from Beast Boy as she whipped off the shirt she was already wearing so she could change.

"Does your date know you strip in front of other people?" Beast Boy teased.

"Oh, she enjoys it immensely when I do it for her." Raven barked back, "Star, I don't need heels."

"But is it not customary to wear heels to the date?" Starfire seemed confused.

"She?" Beast Boy asked, "Do you swing that way?"

"It is not a date so, no it's not customary and it's none of your business which way I swing, or if I swing at all."

"Sorry!" Beast Boy crossed his arms, "You just never talk about this stuff, now you're going out on a date…"

"It's not a date!" Raven sighed and turned to Starfire, "Have I not made it clear that it's not a date?"

"What's not a date?" Cyborg poked his head in, "Raven, you look good!"

"And she's wearing perfume!" Beast Boy added.

"I am not wearing perfume." Raven glared at him as yet another member of the team entered her room.

Beast Boy sneered back at her, "Dude, I could smell it all the way from my room. When did you switch to cherry blossom anyway?"

"Man, you really need to stop smelling us." Cyborg told him.

"I can't help it!" Beast Boy threw his hands in the air.

"THAT'S IT!" Raven shouted and her eyes briefly turned red, "Everyone get out!"

"But Raven!" All three of them protested.

"Out!" Raven grabbed Cyborg and Beast Boy by the ears and tossed them out before she turned on Starfire, "You too."

Starfire just smiled and placed some earrings in Raven's hand and wished her a nice evening. As soon as the door was closed Raven put on the earrings Starfire gave her and with a little hesitation she put on the heels, telling herself that they were already out of her closet and therefore more convenient than anything else. She stuffed her communicator, her cloak, and the bottle of wine she bought into her bag.

When she stepped out of her door to leave, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire were waiting for her. They looked at her expectantly; Starfire practically buzzing with excitement and the boys trying to look inconspicuous. Raven pursed her lips and looked at each of her friends in turn.

"You will not follow me, you will not track my communicator, and if you want any hope of finding out any details of this evening you will not call me unless you absolutely need me."

"It's totally a date." Cyborg said under his breath. "She's wearing the heels."

"I'll be back later." Raven huffed as she made her way to the elevator.

"Hi!" Terra greeted as she opened the door. "Wow, you got dressed up."

"Starfire got me dressed up. Do I get to come in?" Raven asked.

Terra leaned against door frame, "Hmm, maybe. What are you offering?"

Raven silently pulled out the bottle of wine and handed it over. Terra laughed and then pulled her inside.

"So, I have no idea what you like to eat besides waffles and tea. But I figure that even if you don't like it you'll eat three bites of it to be polite and I can finish it later." Terra told her as she led them to the kitchen.

"You've put up wallpaper," Raven noted the pale grey-blue wallpaper.

Terra nodded and started opening the wine, "Linda, you know, my foster-mom? She brought it over, said the place was too depressing otherwise. Plus she helped me pick out this super-cozy comforter that I think I'd like to be buried in."

"It's good to plan ahead." Raven put her bag down on the floor.

"Well after being turned to stone, I'd like to do it right the second time." Terra poured their wine. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Raven took the glass from her, "To be honest I have no idea what this will taste like."

"Sounds like my dinner! Cheers!" Terra clinked her glass against Raven's.

Raven sipped her wine, it started off strong and bitter and then shifted into something sweet and soft, she glanced at Terra who was already smiling at her.

"I like it." Terra told her before twirling around to stir something on the stove.

"Me too." Raven perched herself up on the countertop. "So what are we having?"

"Chicken a la Shonda." Terra replied as the timer went-off.

"So boozy chicken?" Raven took another sip of her wine.

"There might be some whiskey in the sauce." Terra winked as she pulled out a glass dish from the oven.

"Need any help?" Raven offered.

Terra turned off the oven and threw down her oven mitts. She approached Raven and took her hands in hers. Raven blinked at the sudden seriousness in Terra's expression.

"My darling, beautiful, fake girlfriend. Please, never ever cook for me." Terra begged, "I want to live."

"Ha ha." Raven frowned.

"Oh it's no joke, I know what you did to Cyborg's waffle maker."

"That was a tragic accident." Raven broke one hand away to drink her wine.

Terra giggled and squeezed Raven's other hand before going back to cooking. Raven watched in silent admiration as Terra put the finishing touches; even going so far as to make perfectly shaped rice mounds on the plates alongside the chicken and the whiskey sauce.

"C'mon, let's eat!" Terra grinned as she brought the plates over to the coffee table, "Grab my wine wouldja?"

Raven hopped down from the counter and grabbed the wine. On the way over she noticed that there were lit candles on the coffee table.

"A little fancy for a dinner to thank me for moving you in." She commented as she sat down on the futon.

"You're wearing heels." Terra argued, "And earrings."

"I told you Starfire dressed me up. She was convinced I was going on a date." Raven grabbed her plate.

Terra mirrored her, pulling her feet up onto the futon, "Why did she think that?"

Raven shrugged and pushed the chicken around in its sauce. "You're my mystery friend that I never talk about; last time that happened I was dating a dragon who was trapped in one of my books."

Terra almost choked on her first bite, "W-what?"

"Long story, but everyone at home is convinced I'm on a date and Starfire dressed me accordingly." Raven explained before she took a bite of the food.

Terra watched her carefully once she got her breath back, "Well?"

Raven took a second bite, cruelly enjoying the anxiousness in Terra's expression. She even chewed slowly and then took a nice, long sip of her wine.

"It's good." Raven confirmed as she went for a third bite.

"Just good?" Terra scrunched her eyebrows together, "Not great, not wonderful, not take-me-now?"

Raven half-smiled, "It's very good."

"I'll take it." Terra smiled, digging into her own plate.

They settled in then. When Terra finished her wine, Raven went and poured her more, despite Terra's objections. She cited the fake girlfriend bylaws and said that the cook was in charge of all things edible and Raven was not allowed to do anything. Raven told her to stuff the fake girlfriend bylaws and to drink her wine. Terra said that stuffing the fake girlfriend bylaws was dirty. Raven shrugged and said that shouldn't be a problem for her then. Terra pretended to be offended the rest of the meal.

One of their childish, petty arguments started up again when dinner ended and Raven tried to help clear their plates.

"Oh no, the fake girlfriend bylaws strictly forbid you from cleaning up." Terra told her, grabbing Raven's plate from her grasp and placing it on the coffee table next to hers.

"What exactly do the fake girlfriend bylaws allow me to do then?" Raven retorted as she reached to stack the plates.

Terra glared and snatched the plates away, "Nothing. Sit there and look pretty."

"Sit here and look pretty?" Raven rolled her eyes. "Really?"

"You always look pretty." Terra shrugged casually.

The compliment caught Raven off guard, mostly because it wasn't under the guise of a joke or obvious fake flattery. It was serious. Terra meant it. The plates clanked as Terra dropped them back onto the coffee table. Raven never saw someone backpedal so quickly.

"That came out wrong. Sorry. I wasn't trying to hit on you. Because that would definitely be against the fake girlfriend bylaws to flirt with your obviously very straight friend." Terra said in a rush, looking just past Raven's feet as she apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

That was a lie. Just under the cloud of nervousness, Raven sensed notes of attraction and romantic affection. Maybe it was the wine, or the candles, or the fact that she wore the damned heels that Starfire picked out, but Raven didn't feel surprised, or taken back by this discovery. In a way, it was a relief.

When Terra finally raised her eyes again, Raven realized that they were suddenly her favorite shade of blue.

"I think you're pretty too." Raven ignored her apology and edged closer to Terra.

Terra looked at her in surprise, "What are you trying to say?"

Raven opened her mouth to answer, but then thought better of it and surged forward until her lips caught Terra's.


	7. Chapter 7

She tasted like the wine, Raven noted.

The first kiss had been a quick, almost sloppy thing. Raven had been pulled in by the need to be closer, to cross a line, to ring the bell. She needed to make her feelings for Terra evident. Finesse wasn't exactly a goal. But that didn't seem to matter as Terra got the message and the instant Raven had pulled away, Terra pulled her back.

The second, third, and fourth kisses were much better.

Raven knew the world still spun, that they sat entangled on a hard futon, and that candles burned just inches away, but her awareness of these things faded in sharp contrast to the realization that it felt really, really nice to kiss Terra. Raven's fingers tangled and tugged those long strands of blonde hair while Terra's hands pressed against Raven's back until Raven was nearly in her lap.

Terra dipped her head to kiss the hinge of Raven's jaw which made Raven sigh shakily. Terra smiled against her skin and did it again, but with teeth. She felt Raven's chest heave against hers and Terra repeated the gesture down the length of Raven's neck. Once she reached her collarbone, Raven grabbed her by the chin and captured her mouth again.

They shifted slowly, body's pressing and giving until Terra had Raven pinned between her body and the back of the couch. Raven dragged Terra's bottom lip between her teeth as Terra's hands traced the hem of Raven's tank top. She was tempted by the proposition and leaned to whisper her approval in Terra's ear at the exact moment her communicator went off.

Both of them groaned as it continued to sound an alert. The rest of the world forced itself back into focus and Terra fell to the side so Raven could go answer it. Terra watched as Raven ran a hand through her disheveled hair before she flipped the communicator open.

"Are you dead?" Raven asked bitterly.

"Nope, but we've got a situation." Robin's voice came through.

It had been such a long time since Terra had heard it, she was surprised by how much deeper it was. She unabashedly listened in as Robin explained the situation.

"You do not need me for that." Raven snarled, "He's a child with a death wish. A pebble on the ground could take him out."

Terra could hear Robin sigh, "I know, but he's offended that not all five of us are here, and it would make it a lot easier if you'd just throw a punch at him."

"I ended the world, banished Trigon the Terrible from our dimension for all eternity, and then brought the world back into existence. I am not going to soothe the fragile ego of some boy. Tell him to build a giant robot to attack the city, and then I might take him seriously."

There was a pause from Robin's end, but Terra thought she heard the faint sound of sobs.

"You've made him cry, Raven." Robin said with obvious annoyance, "Just get down here."

The call cut-out and Raven started a long string of swear words as she reached for her cloak. Well, Terra thought they were swear words, she couldn't be sure because it wasn't in English. She rose from the couch once Raven was ready to go.

"I'm sorry." Raven apologized, "If I didn't have to go I wouldn't."

"It's okay." Terra shrugged and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "So, will I see you later? Or will you have to go back to the Tower?"

"Would you like me to come back?" Raven asked, approaching her.

"Might be nice if we talked about you know." Terra nodded her head towards the couch.

"It would be nice." Raven agreed, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Raven kissed her, as a way of assuring Terra that it hadn't been some sort of mistake, but Terra deepened the kiss, bringing Raven's body flush against hers again. Regrettably, Raven put an end to it and stepped out of Terra's arms and into one of her dark portals.

Terra glanced around her apartment as if she were seeing it for the first time and ran a hand through her hair. With a long sigh, she flopped back onto the futon and stared at her cracked and water-stained ceiling, caught between replaying what just happened in her head and wondering how she had let it get this far.

2 hours later, Raven re-materialized in Terra's apartment. Raven was frustrated that it took so long, but some bank robbers decided to take advantage of the kid's distraction and it took them forever to finish the paperwork after they caught the crooks. And Raven had done it all in heels.

She was never going to wear heels again in her life.

But, none of that mattered at the moment, because she spotted Terra in the kitchen, washing dishes. Quietly, Raven unclasped her cloak and draped it on the back of the couch. She took off her heels before slipping into the kitchen.

"I'm back." She said.

Terra jumped at the sound of her voice and dropped the plate she had been washing. She turned and glared at Raven.

"Do you have to be so quiet all of the time?" Terra asked in mock frustration, flicking some soap suds at Raven.

Raven shrugged and pulled herself up onto the counter, "Part of my charm."

Terra rolled her eyes and dried her hands with a towel. She crossed her arms and leaned against the sink, "So…"

"We made-out." Raven said bluntly.

"Yeah," Terra grinned sheepishly and moved to join Raven on the counter top, "We did."

Raven didn't say anything in response, and Terra gave her a minute to sort out whatever thoughts were probably zooming around in her head before she spoke again.

"You know, when I asked you over for dinner, this wasn't what I had in mind." Terra said as she edged her hand closer to Raven's, "Not that I'm complaining."

The corner of Raven's mouth tugged up in one corner as their fingers entangled again, "Neither am I."

For a second, the world around them went out of focus again. It was just the two of them, sitting on the counter, holding hands, like real girlfriends. For a second, they were two old acquaintances who just met at a coffee-shop one day. Perfectly normal, perfectly capable of pursuing a normal relationship. It was a nice little bubble they were in.

"We can't ignore the risks." Raven spoke finally, popping their bubble, "Not if we really want to date."

"I want to." Terra confirmed almost immediately, "And I know the risks."

"I'll have to run out in the middle of dates." Raven reminded her.

"I know." Terra put her other hand on top of hers.

"Someone could come after you because of me." Raven added.

" _I know._ " Terra sighed and put her head on Raven's shoulder.

"Beast Boy will never forgive me if or when he finds out."

Terra bit her lip. That was true. Beast Boy wouldn't forgive her, not either of them. He wouldn't forgive Terra for not going to him when her memories came back, and he wouldn't forgive Raven for keeping that a secret _and_ being Terra's friend and now possibly her girlfriend. All Terra had wanted was for someone to help her with her powers if they ever came back. She never meant for it to become this complicated.

"I know" Terra said softly and lifted her head from Raven's shoulders, "Look if it's too much; keeping my stuff a secret and being together. You can tell them."

"I don't want to tell them," Raven admitted as she met Terra's eyes, "Then I would have to share you."

Terra laughed at that, "So, does that mean we're really moving from fake girlfriends to real girlfriends?"

Raven smiled a little and kissed Terra's temple as an answer before hopping off the counter. She opened her communicator and made a call to the tower as Terra watched from the kitchen.

"Hello friend!" Starfire's exuberant voice filled the room, "We were just pondering your whereabouts!"

"Yeah! You just took off!" Cyborg's voice came next.

"I went back to my date; I didn't want her to think I was completely rude."

"So you admit it was a date!" Beast Boy's voice blared.

Raven glanced at Terra, who smiled encouragingly back at her. "Yes, that's usually what it's called when you hang-out with your girlfriend."

There was a chorus of responses varying from complete shock to congratulations. Raven waited for them to die down enough to be heard again.

"I was just calling in to let you know I won't be back until morning and unless people are dying, I don't want any alerts."

"If you're sure." Robin's concerned voice emerged.

Raven nodded, "I am. Goodnight."

She snapped the communicator shut and looked up to see Terra was already sliding off the counter to join her. Raven tossed the already forgotten communicator onto the couch.

"So, barring a natural disaster or a bombing, we have all night?" Terra asked as slipped her hand into Raven's again, "What will we do to pass the time?"

"Don't get any ideas. I don't give it up on the first date." Raven informed her as she led them to the far side of the apartment.

"So, why are we heading towards my bed?"

Raven smirked, "I heard the comforter was cozy."

Terra giggled as Raven kept guiding her forward, "Ahh, yes it is and it's perfect for cuddling."

"Hmm, and kissing?" Raven inquired once they reached the edge of Terra's bed.

"We'll make do."

Terra lost her patience and pulled Raven onto the bed with her; landing in a pile of tangled limbs that quickly rearranged so that Terra had Raven pinned between herself and the mattress. Terra's fingers toyed with the hem of Raven's top.

"I think this is where we left off earlier." Terra gave her a devilish smile.

Raven returned the smile before they closed what little space remained between them with a searing kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

Three weeks passed after their first date before Raven and Terra actually saw each other again. Between Terra starting her new job and the unusual spike in crime, they barely had time to so much as talk on the phone. In fact, the last few days they had been playing an extremely frustrating game of phone-tag.

 _It's me. It's been another thrilling day of keeping the city safe. Long story short: Starfire is making me a new uniform because acid was dumped on the old one. Call me back._

Terra sighed as she listened to the message. She dialed the number to Raven's communicator and groaned when it went straight to the voicemail.

 _Acid? Are you okay? If you are then please, please tell me Starfire is making it pink with rhinestones. Because while the whole dark, mysterious thing is hot; that would be hilarious. Call me back when you can._

Once she was done she tossed her phone onto the coffee table and went into the kitchen to look for something to eat. Work had kicked her ass today and she wished for several long moments that the milk in her fridge was something stronger. Impatient and bored with her choices she wandered back over to the futon and plopped herself on it.

She settled back against the cushion and stared at the ceiling. Had it been three weeks since Raven had kissed her on this couch? Terra frowned. Three weeks was beginning to feel like an eternity, and calling Raven her girlfriend was starting to feel like an exaggeration. Terra rolled her shoulders against the fabric to get comfortable and tried to recount the entirety of their first date in her head for the second millionth time that week. She vaguely wondered if it was okay to call it a first date when the second date hadn't happened yet.

Terra woke up on the couch sometime later to the sound of her phone ringing. Not entirely conscious, she lunged for it, banging her knee on the edge of the coffee table in the process.

"Ow, hello?" She answered.

"Ow, hello to you too." A calm voice reiterated with an edge of concern.

"RAE!" Terra unintentionally yelled. She sat up, pushed the hair from her face and tried to ignore the throbbing in her knee. "Holy shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to get that excited. Hi, how are you? It's been 84 years since I've heard your voice in real-time."

Raven chuckled dryly, "It has not been 84 years."

"84 years and I can still smell the fresh paint." Terra quoted as she stood up to walk the soreness out of her knee. "Anyway. Are you okay? I heard something about acid and new pretty pink uniform."

There was a huff from Raven's end, "Mumbo has gotten so much more creative after marrying Mother-Mae-Eye."

"You know the strangest people." Terra said instead of asking for an explanation; that often just confused her more. She moved towards her kitchen in search of food again. "So, back to the real question: is your new uniform gonna be pink? Tell me it's gonna be pink."

"It's already finished. And no. It's not pink."

Terra glanced at the clock on her stove, it was only ten o'clock. "Starfire must be a fast worker."

"She said it was a point of pride on Tamaran for warriors to mend armor, plus I'm supposed to take her third shift patrol tonight so she can go on a date with Robin. It was in her best interest to have it finished."

Terra laughed, imagining Starfire huddled over a sewing machine. "When does your patrol start?"

"In about two hours. I was wondering if you were hungry."

A smile threatened to split Terra's face in half, "I'm starving."

"Good, because I just arrived at your building." Raven said, and then added as an afterthought, "And I have food."

Terra hung up on her. She practically sprinted out of her apartment and found Raven half-way down the stairs. She stopped on the landing just a few steps above Raven and they took a second to stare at each other. Raven was in her new uniform, a skin-tight black neoprene suit that highlighted curves that even her cloak couldn't hide. She looked amazing.

Terra blinked when Raven broke the silence.

"I missed you."

She half-laughed, half-sighed as she closed the distance between them. The grocery bag Raven had in one hand smacked against her thigh, but Terra couldn't make herself care. In fact, neither seemed to care that they were in the middle of a stairway where almost anyone could show-up at any time. Raven's free hand kept a firm grip on the hair at the base of Terra's skull and Terra pulled Raven so close to her that she actually lifted Raven off her feet.

They broke for air. Terra smiled and after a second, asked Raven shakily, "Wanna come inside?"

"Well, the ice cream might melt otherwise."

"You brought ice cream?" Terra asked, letting Raven down onto her own feet.

"Yes?" Raven raised an eyebrow, "It's that stupid birthday cake flavor you like. As if ice cream isn't already sweet enough without adding another des-"

Terra cut her off with another kiss. Raven was definitely worth the 3 weeks of waiting.

* * *

It took a long time, but they found a rhythm to seeing each other on a weekly basis. Raven averaged about 2 to 3 graveyard shifts a week, and whenever she had one of those, she would try to have an extremely late dinner or an extremely early breakfast with Terra. Today was one of those extremely early breakfasts as apparently Raven was occupied with helping Beast Boy wrangle escaped zoo animals the night before.

Terra glanced at Raven as she took a hearty drink of her coffee. "I thought you didn't like coffee."

"Today I love coffee." Raven responded with irritation that Terra knew was not meant for her and gulped down more of her drink, "I swear the damned lions get harder and harder to put back in the cages."

"Can't you lift them into the cages with your magic?"

Raven nodded with a sigh, "Yes, and that works just fine. But my animal-rights activist teammate insists that it's inhumane to put the vicious carnivores through the discomfort of my magic. So instead, Beast Boy and I spend hours coaxing them to back inside."

"Sounds fun." Terra sympathized.

"It's a joy." Raven rolled her eyes and changed the subject "When do you have to head to work?"

"In about an hour." Terra frowned slightly, "I have to help prep the rock climbing equipment before the kids start showing up."

"So it's rock climbing today?" Raven asked politely, trying to feign interest.

Terra apparently saw through it and laughed, "You don't have to pretend that you care. I get that the world of camp counseling isn't nearly as exciting as lion coaxing."

"You know that's not what I meant." Raven defended.

"I know." Terra grinned at her, "It's just fun to watch you squirm a bit."

Raven sneered at her and Terra made a face back at her. Terra broke out into laughter a few seconds later and Raven allowed herself to smile softly in return.

"But you do like your job?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, I mean. It's not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life, but I like the kids, when they don't try to kill themselves." Terra sipped her coffee, "You wouldn't believe how often they try to jump off of things and pretend they can fly."

"Oh, I do." Raven smirked, "We're asked about once a month to do a public service announcement to stop kids from imitating us."

Terra almost spit-out her coffee, "Wait, seriously?"

"According to Cyborg there's a superhero-imitation related injury every three days."

"Traumatizing lions, hospitalizing kids, superheroing sure has changed since I retired." Terra shook her head with a giggle.

"Retired?" Raven asked, "That's the word you're going with?"

Terra stuck her tongue out just at the moment the waiter came around with their pancakes and waffles.

"So, what is it that you actually want to do with the rest of your life?" Raven asked once they were part-way through their breakfast.

Terra swallowed her bite of pancake with some difficulty, "Little deep for 6:30 in the morning don't you think?"

"You're the one who said that you didn't want to be a camp counselor for the rest of your life."

Terra rolled her eyes, "I mean, yeah, but it's a good job for now. I'll eventually have to go back to school if I want to do something else. I sometimes like the idea of being a physical therapist."

"They make pretty good money." Raven commented with a nod.

Terra put down her fork and stared at Raven, "Why are you so interested in what I want to be when I grow up?"

"I can't be interested?"

"No, you can be, it's just… You've never asked before." Terra said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You ask me how work is, but that's about as far as we get."

Raven put her fork down as well. She laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them, "We always talk about my life, my job. I'm trying not to hog the conversation."

Terra pursed her lips in a smile. She picked up her fork again and twirled her pancakes in the syrup on her plate.

"My brother Michael, he's getting married." Terra said before popping a bite of pancake into her mouth.

"Okay?" Raven looked at her strangely.

"You wanted to know more about my life, right? Well, I have no idea what I want to do career-wise, but my brother Michael just got engaged." Terra said with a mischievous smile, "And Linda hates his fiancé."

Raven smiled at her in understanding, which Terra took as permission to continue. Which she did, until it was time for her to head to work.

"So on that note, I have to get going." Terra told her, gathering up her bag, "I'll pay my half on my way out."

"I don't mind getting breakfast." Raven argued, "I'm the one who makes you wake up at an ungodly hour."

Terra smiled at Raven's consideration, but waved it off, "It keeps me from being late to work."

"Fine." Raven conceded.

Terra got up, put her bag on her shoulder, and leaned over to kiss Raven on the cheek. Just as she was about to head towards the register, she thought better of it.

"Want to come to Tuesday night dinner?" Terra asked as she turned back.

"Isn't that your family dinner?" Raven asked in return.

"Yeah, and I know you've met Jim and Linda already, but that was as my friend." Terra fiddled with her hair, "I thought maybe you'd like to meet them as my girlfriend."

Terra could have sworn that there was a sudden shine in Raven's eyes, "I'd love too."

"Really?"

"Yes." Raven nodded, "I'll figure something out with the team, though I might be on call."

"That's great!" Terra found herself kissing Raven full on the mouth before she could help it, "Okay, I have to go. Bye!"

She turned on her heel then, feeling rather light on her feet as she marched to work that morning.


	9. Chapter 9

She could hear Terra sniffling next to her, which wasn't uncommon during a sad part of a movie; Terra was an easy-crier about these kind of things. Raven shifted slightly to hold her hand. Raven heard Forrest Gump talk to Jenny's grave and figured she had another couple of minutes of shut-eye before she had to pretend she was paying attention again.

"You're asleep."

Terra's voice woke her up. Blinking, Raven lifted her head from her shoulder and noticed that the movie was back to the main menu. She groaned internally and turned towards Terra.

"Sorry." She apologized as fought back a yawn.

Terra brushed away the stray hair that was stuck to Raven's cheek, "Why didn't you tell me you were so tired?"

"It didn't hit me until Forrest was on the shrimp boat." Raven couldn't hold back the yawn this time, "Robin had us run his new obstacle course all day."

Terra laughed and rolled her eyes, "He does love his obstacle courses."

Raven nodded, "I'm sorry, again."

"Guess this just means that you _have_ to stay over." Terra shrugged.

"What?"

Terra leaned forward until their noses touched. She grinned at her with a smile that Raven could only describe as wicked.

"You can't _possibly_ be expected to travel all the way back to the tower like this." Terra said, her lips moving across Raven's cheek towards her ear, "I mean, if you're too tired to stay awake through a classic like Forrest Gump, there's no way you can stay awake long enough to make it home." Terra's teeth scraped Raven's earlobe. "Right?"

"It literally takes me seconds to teleport home." Raven argued, but moved closer to Terra nonetheless, spreading her fingers across Terra's thighs.

Terra chuckled and moved back so she met Raven's eyes, "Stay the night."

Terra's tone promised a very intimate evening if Raven stayed, but Raven's eyes, her head, her everything felt heavy. She was exhausted and intimacy was the last thing on her mind.

"You know that I'm too tired to do anything right?" Raven asked, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against Terra's.

"Yeah, but you see, tomorrow is Sunday. And as I recall, that means I don't have work, and unless you have some patrol you have to go on, you shouldn't either." Terra pointed out, kissing the tip of Raven's nose. "We'll go to sleep, but I make no promises about tomorrow morning."

"Fine, I'll stay." Raven agreed, realizing that she was also too tired to tell Terra that nothing would be happening in the morning either. "But I'll need something to wear."

"You could just…"

"I'm wearing something." Raven opened her eyes to give her an accusatory look, "Thirsty."

Terra conceded with a grin, kissing her cheek before getting up to get Raven something to wear. After borrowing sweats and a stealing a swig of mouthwash Raven crawled into bed with Terra.

"This okay?" Terra asked as she draped one arm over Raven's side.

She nodded and let Terra's body heat and the softness of the sheets lull her back to sleep.

For a long time, the sound of hiccups and half-realized sobbing were merely the background noise of whatever sad, twisted dream Raven was having. But her eyes flew open and she realized that she wasn't dreaming and that Terra was no longer in bed with her.

Sitting up, she spotted Terra on the couch. The sniffling and the blubbering came to a faltering stop when Terra realized that Raven was awake.

"Rae." Her voice was rough.

Raven wordlessly rose from the bed; watching as Terra tried to wipe away the evidence of her crying with her hands. Terra stood up, her fingers moving from her face to pull her hair away.

"Sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep." Terra said walking to meet Raven half-way, "I'm okay. Really."

That was a lie. Now that she was awake, Raven felt like she was going to capsize in the waves of Terra's emotions, there were so many, and they were so strong. As Raven walked towards her, Terra kept insisting she was okay, every assurance less believable than the last. By the time Raven reached her Terra was biting her lip to keep what tears had gathered from falling. Raven's fingers traced the outline of her face.

"You do realize that you can't lie about being okay to me, right?" Raven asked her.

There was a moment where Terra paused and all of her emotions flashed at Raven one right after the other. Uncertainty. Panic. Fear. Desperation. Terra inhaled sharply before she fell into Raven's arms.

Her whole body shook, even her fingers trembled as they hooked into Raven's shirt. It took all of Raven's concentration to keep them standing.

"What happened?" Raven asked as she shifted to give them more stability, "Terra. What happened?"

Terra's answer came in several short bursts of words every time she managed to take a breath, but it all came out in time. Raven kept her close, despite the shaking and waited as Terra worked through her answer.

"I was in the suit again." Terra told her, "Slade came back. He came back, my powers came back, and I was in the suit again. My body, it moved when I didn't want it to. My powers killed people even though I was screaming not to. I was screaming and he was laughing. He owned me again."

"It was just a nightmare." Raven reassured her once she grew quiet.

She was surprised when Terra ripped herself out of Raven's arms. She looked at Raven with wild, red-rimmed eyes.

"No! It wasn't just a nightmare!" Terra cried, "Just because my powers haven't come back yet, doesn't it mean they won't! If they come back, he will too! He'll come back and he'll put me in that suit and…"

"Listen to me!" Raven nearly shouted, startling Terra into clamming up again. Slowly she approached her again, her tone softer when she assured her, "He won't come back."

"How could you possibly know that?" Terra demanded.

Raven held her by the shoulders, looking straight into Terra's eyes, "Because! _You_ didn't kill Beast Boy. Slade, the suit, they told you to kill him, but _you_ stopped it. _You_ killed Slade. _You_ stopped that volcano. _You_ did that. Slade didn't own you then and he doesn't own you now."

The fear, the panic died down then, just enough for Terra to nod in numb agreement. Raven sighed and pushed some of Terra's hair behind her ear.

"Trust me," Raven continued, resting her hand on Terra's cheek. "Even if he was stupid enough to come after you, which he won't, he would still have to deal with me."

Terra gave a soft sigh of amusement, "Are you promising to beat him up?"

The look Raven gave her was dead serious.

"A thousand times over." Raven promised.

Terra's eyes widened, "What if we break…"

"A thousand times over." Raven promised again, before Terra could finish voicing her doubt. "I promise, he won't come for you."

Terra gulped, but nodded more assuredly this time. She leaned into the hand Raven had on her cheek and kissed the palm.

"Thank you." Terra muttered, kissing Raven's palm again.

Raven ran her thumb across Terra's cheekbone, "Come back to bed with me?"

"Okay."

They crawled into bed. Entangled together, they stayed awake without speaking. The occasional caress was the only sign that the other was still awake. It wasn't until daylight was starting to break through Terra's windows that Terra spoke up again.

"Rae?" Terra whispered just in case she was asleep.

"Hmm?" Raven hummed, tilting her head to press her lips against Terra's shoulder.

"Why didn't your powers go crazy earlier? I thought when people were overly emotional around you your powers wigged out."

Raven blinked. Terra was right. Her powers were often fed by how other people felt, it was the main reason that she often left when other people were having a fight in the tower; her powers liked picking sides. As emotional as Terra had been earlier, Raven should have lost some control.

"I don't know why." Raven admitted.

Terra set her chin on Raven's shoulder, "Maybe it's just because I'm so cute."

Raven rolled her eyes, but leaned into Terra's arms. "Yes, that's obviously the reason."

"You _like_ me." Terra smiled, kissing Raven's throat, "Your powers like me."

"I do have a thing for blondes." Raven admitted in flippant tone.

Terra nipped at Raven's skin, "Blondes?"

"Just one in particular."

The kisses against Raven's neck became gentler. Raven half-smiled as Terra's sense of ease melded with her own. She brought Terra's hand to her lips.

"You should meet her sometime. You'd like her." Raven teased.

"You're not funny."

Chuckling, Raven rolled over to face her. Terra loomed slightly over her, blue eyes watching her with curiosity. Raven sated it with a kiss, which Terra deepened. Raven stilled Terra's hand when it began to reach beneath Raven's shirt. She could see the question in Terra's eyes; it wasn't the first time that they had been topless together, what was the matter?

"Not like this." Raven answered without elaboration.

It took a second, but Terra understood. She brushed her lips against Raven's. "How does breakfast sound then?"

"Sounds good, blondie."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hi everyone! First off, thanks for all the kind reviews! Secondly, there is a lemon halfway through this chapter, so if you don't want to read it, I suggest you skip that section.**

Raven felt stupid. Here she was standing with Terra outside her foster parent's house arguing about whether or not she was prepared to actually visit with Terra's family. If she wasn't ready she would have told Terra that when she was invited last week. But for whatever reason, Terra believed that they had to go over every possible thing that could go wrong. They had been at it for ten minutes already and the wine Raven brought as a hostess gift was starting to get heavy.

"Are you sure you can handle this many people at once? It's usually a crowd of 9, and Linda said that Michael and Gabe's brought their partners, so that makes at least 12 including you."

"I can handle that many people." Raven reassured her yet again.

"I just don't want you to get too stressed."

"This conversation is stressing me out more than your family possibly could."

"Okay, okay," Terra conceded at last, "Let's go in."

Terra took all of one step towards the door before turning back to Raven, "Your face!"

"What about my face?" Raven shifted the weight of her grocery bag.

"It's grey and your chakra thing!"

"Only because I cast the glamor charm in front of you." Raven explained, "Promise, there won't be any grey skin, purple hair, or chakra stone."

"Oh, alright." Terra glanced back at the house with no small amount of uncertainty.

"Can we go in now?"

"I'm just going to ask this one more time before we do:" Terra paused for emphasis, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Raven sighed for the umpteenth time and decided to take the initiative. Despite Terra's protests, Raven walked briskly up the porch steps and rang the doorbell. Terra scuttled after her and landed on the porch just as Linda answered the door.

"Melanie! You're just in time, I need some help in the kitchen." Linda greeted breathlessly, noticing Raven only after she had half-dragged Terra past the threshold, "Hello, you're Lucy, yes?"

"Linda!" Terra admonished.

"What?"

"This is Rachel. Lucy is Michael's fiancé." Terra frowned, "Remember?"

"Right, right! I'm so sorry Rachel, please come on in." Linda ushered them both inside the house.

Casting an apologetic look Raven's way, Terra followed Linda into the kitchen and Raven followed them in turn. Linda immediately put Terra to work chopping vegetables for the salad as she went back to dicing strawberries.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Raven offered.

Terra answered for Linda, "No, you can't. I want them to like you and they can't do that if they're dying of food poisoning."

"Not very handy in the kitchen Rachel?" Linda asked with a brief smile, "Melanie wasn't much of a cook when she showed up at our door either."

"I'm sure even then she was much better than me." Raven said agreeably.

Linda pointed at the bag in Raven's arms, "Would you like to set that down?"

"It's actually for you." Raven handed the bag over to her, "Thanks for having me."

"How sweet!" Linda examined the three different bottles Raven had brought. "Hardly anyone brings anything to dinner besides another mouth to feed."

Terra glanced up from her chopped cucumbers, "Speaking of, where is everyone?"

"Outside." Linda gestured towards the back door, "Apparently it takes almost the entire family to set a table."

Two people came through the door just then, an older gentleman that Raven recognized as Jim, and a shorter, much younger man she didn't recognize at all.

"Table's all set Lin." Jim said, dropping a kiss to the top of Terra's head as he passed by her on his way to Linda, "What can we take out first?"

"Who are you?" The man who entered with Jim asked Raven, only to be beaned in the face with a piece of cucumber.

"That's Rachel, my girlfriend." Terra introduced while pointing her knife at him, "And you will be nice to her, Gabe."

"Sheesh, can't ask a simple question around here." Gabe shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded towards Raven, "Nice to meet you."

"Same." Raven nodded back.

Jim walked around the island and put out his hand to shake, "Nice to see you again, Rachel."

"Likewise. Thank you for having me." Raven noted his mild surprise when her grip was just as strong as his.

"Alright," Linda pulled their attention back to the food, "Everyone grab a dish and let's go eat."

Terra introduced the rest of her siblings to Raven. Michael was the oldest. Gabe the second oldest, Sam was his boyfriend and significantly taller than Gabe. Next came her two sisters, Emma who had graduated high school this year, and Lily the year before that. Then there were Oscar and Frank, who still lived at home with Jim and Linda; they were twins. Raven was just thankful they didn't speak Spanish at the speed of light.

The dinner went smoothly. The food was delicious and for the most part the family was too busy recapping the past week and sharing inside jokes to pay too much attention to Raven. Though of course, anytime Jim or Linda asked the most innocent of questions regarding Raven's background, Terra nearly jumped to defend her right to not say anything at all. It was starting to feel as if Terra didn't trust Raven to say much of anything.

Raven was thankful when the dessert portion of dinner was over. It meant that she and Terra would be leaving soon. Maybe, if they were lucky, she and Terra could steal away some hours alone before Raven was called back to the tower.

"Will you be okay if I go help Linda with dishes? It's my turn this week." Terra asked, "After that I promise we can leave."

"I'm in no hurry." Raven lied, taking a sip of what was left of her lemonade.

Terra glanced around her. Linda and Jim had already gone inside and all of Terra's siblings had started playing a game of tag football a few yards away with Gabe's boyfriend acting as the referee. Once Terra confirmed that everyone else was distracted, she stole a kiss from Raven.

"Melanie and Rachel sitting in a tree!" Frank's shout put an end to that and soon the rest of Terra's siblings were chanting with him: "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Raven didn't even have the time to blink before Terra was tearing after Frank, chasing him around the yard until she inevitably caught him and tackled him to the ground. Both Terra and Frank were laughing when Linda called Terra to come wash dishes.

"I'll be right in!" Terra called back, turning to give Frank a warning look. On her way into the house she tossed a wink Raven's way.

Raven watched Terra's siblings play; glancing occasionally into the house where she could see brief glimpses of Terra moving around the kitchen. After watching her family and seeing how Terra interacted with them, Raven had a greater understanding of why Terra initially didn't want her memories to interfere with her current life. It was happy here, if a little loud.

She was glad Terra invited her to dinner.

When Terra reemerged from the house she asked, "Ready to go?"

Raven intertwined her fingers with Terra's, "Why don't we stay for a while?"

Terra blinked. "Wait, really?"

"I want to see how this game ends." Raven said casually, tugging on Terra's hand.

At first Terra was confused, since she knew for a fact that Raven wasn't a fan of any kind of sport, but she grinned when the realization hit her. She squeezed Raven's hand and sat down next to her.

"Best girlfriend ever." Terra kissed Raven's cheek.

* * *

It was very late when she knocked on her door. She never dropped in this late, at least not without any notice, but tonight the edges of her restraint smoldered. Somehow she couldn't keep still, she couldn't wait until their scheduled date the next night. She felt ready now.

The door opened before she could knock again. A blurry-eyed Terra peered out at her before her eyes flew open.

"Rae? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Terra stepped out into the hall, her hands already touching Raven's face in concern.

The last of her restraint turned to ash.

Raven pressed forward until Terra was engulfed in her arms. Terra eventually eased into the embrace, her fingers tangling in purple hair. Raven took this as a sign to move them towards the interior of the apartment and to close the door behind them with a definitive _thud._

Terra pulled away just enough to look Raven in the eye, "Rae, why are you here?"

"Take your clothes off." Raven breathed, "And I'll show you."

Raven saw the flash of understanding in Terra's eyes just before Terra practically slammed Raven against the door, pressing her mouth against every bare surface she could find on Raven's body. It fanned the slow smolder in Raven's body into a flame. Raven feverishly helped her out of the loose night shirt she had been wearing. Terra bit into Raven's neck as she helped Raven shimmy out of her jeans. Both half-dressed, they stumbled together across the apartment, collapsing onto the bed a shivering, excited mess.

Terra kissed the length of Raven's torso as she slid her shirt off of her. Raven hooked her thumbs into the waistband of Terra's shorts and pulled them down. She had to swallow a groan as Terra's cool hands toyed with her breasts. Now they were both without clothes. Without guidance, Raven grazed her nails across Terra's hips and across the curve of her ass, and then grabbed her hips and roughly pulled her body flush against hers.

They tangled and rolled until Raven was on top, one hand on Terra's chest, the other one tracing patterns into her thigh. She could sense Terra's arousal, the anticipation in her breathing, the heat on her skin, the spike of passion in her aura as her hips bucked forward, trying to bring Raven's hand closer to its goal, but instead her hand jumped to the other thigh, tracing patterns there.

"Tease." Terra whined and smiled at the same time.

Her voice was encouraging and husky; Raven found it incredibly sexy. And yet, her fingers twitched.

Raven sat straight up, disconnecting completely from Terra. She was flushed, both from Terra's affections and guilt. She had been so sure this time.

"Rae?" Terra sat up too, "What's wrong?"

Swallowing her guilt, Raven ignored Terra's question and searched for her discarded shirt. Snatching it up and throwing it on, Raven got off the bed in search of her pants and underwear.

"Sorry, I should go." Raven muttered as a poor way of appeasing Terra's concern.

"Rae. No." Terra was following her, dogging her steps as she tried to get dressed again.

"Sorry I woke you up." Raven told her as she grabbed her jeans.

"Raven. Stop. Please." Terra begged.

The use of her full name stopped her. Terra never called her Raven, only Rae; just like Raven never called her Melanie, only Terra. Raven turned around to face her, the stricken look on Terra's face made the guilt rise like bile in Raven's throat.

"Are, are you not attracted to me?" Terra asked at last.

Raven's eyebrows knitted together. "What could possibly make you think that?"

"Because!" Terra threw her hands up helplessly, "I'm your first girlfriend and all we've done up until now has been kissing, which isn't all that different no matter who you're kissing on the gender spectrum."

"So I have to be a gold-star lesbian in order to be attracted to you?" Raven took offense. "That's open-minded."

Terra groaned in frustration, "That's not what I meant! It's just that every time we get close to having sex you back-off. Hell, you don't just back-off you run away! What am I supposed to think?"

"Obviously you should think that you're undesirable. That's why I show up in the middle of the night and tell you to take your clothes off." Raven rebuffed with a scoff. The twitching in her fingers increased the longer they discussed the subject.

"Then what is it that makes you run away?" Terra crossed her arms, "Am I pressuring you or something?"

Raven sighed and tried to hide the trembling in her fingers by running them through her hair, "No, you haven't been pressuring me. It's not about you."

Terra pressed again, "Then what is it?"

"I'm a virgin and I get nervous, okay?!"

Raven's shout was accompanied by the futon and the coffee table being overturned by her powers. Terra jumped visibly at the sound and eyed the disrupted furniture warily. Raven gulped and felt herself flush even more; this is what she was trying to avoid.

Raven breathed out shakily, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Terra said, shaking off her wariness, she approached Raven, despite the magic that still danced around the outline of Raven's hands.

Raven's eyes closed when she felt Terra's cool fingertips on her cheek. "You should probably stand back."

"Maybe if I thought you'd actually hurt me, I would." Terra's lips brushed against the chakra gem on her forehead. "But I don't think that. I think that if I'm calm, you'll be calm."

Raven didn't say anything, instead she let Terra prove her theory right. Terra's hands moved so that her fingers ran along the cords at the back of Raven's neck. The massage paired with Terra's mouth ghosting over hers as she muttered Raven's mantra worked wonders. The magic dissipated, but not before it righted Terra's furniture.

"Calm?" Terra asked in a murmur.

"Yes." Raven opened her eyes, "How did you know that would work?"

"Same way you knew how to calm me down after that nightmare." Terra replied with a soft smile. "So, you're a virgin?"

Raven sighed, her hands circling Terra's bare waist, "Yes."

"And you didn't tell me sooner because?" Terra prompted.

"Because I didn't want to be the blushing virgin in comparison to my tactile, experienced girlfriend." Raven's eyes shifted away from Terra's face, "But I am and I have no idea what I'm doing."

Terra's eyes glittered playfully for a moment before she turned her head to kiss Raven just beneath her ear, "So let me take the lead."

"I couldn't ask you to…" Raven let out one of smallest gasps as Terra's hand moved under her shirt and reached for her breast; rolling the nipple between her thumb and forefinger.

"You're not asking." Terra murmured against the shell of her ear as her other hand grabbed Raven's ass. "I'm telling you: Let me take the lead."

Raven leaned towards her and met Terra in a hard, harsh, hot kiss. They broke apart long enough to get Raven's shirt over her head before crashing into the other again. This time they didn't bother going towards the bed, opting for the closer futon which was conveniently laid out flat by Raven's powers.

"I knew your powers liked me." Terra teased as she pressed Raven into the flattened mattress.

Raven smirked at her as her leg curled around Terra's left hip, "Whatever, blondie."

Terra smiled at the nick-name, the one Raven used when she was being affectionately dismissive; something only Raven could pull off. Terra kissed her, her hand inching down her torso, lightly grazing Raven's skin as it went. Terra could have drowned happily in the voiceless cry that Raven gave when Terra slipped past the band of her panties and inserted a single finger inside of her.

Raven's nails bit into Terra's skin, clinging to her as Terra pumped her finger as slowly as possible, being sure to apply pressure on just the right spot every time she moved in and out.

Raven breathed heavily against Terra's neck, "More."

Terra obliged, stilling her one finger while her thumb pressed against her clit. Raven bucked her hips and the word 'more' fell from her lips again. Terra rubbed tight circles against Raven's clit while continuing to finger Raven slowly, so slowly that Raven was practically growling at her to go harder.

Terra would have obliged that request as well, but she wanted to go slowly, steadily, to build Raven up so much that when release finally came, it would be the best orgasm of her life. That, and Terra's hand was starting to cramp a little and this was the best tempo she could muster at the moment. It had been a while since she had done this.

When Terra moved her other hand so she could work one hand on Raven's clit and the other on her g-spot, Raven shifted so they were laying side by side. Before Terra could question the position change she felt Raven's fingers slip between her legs and pinch Terra's clit.

Terra's back arched, "Not fair."

Raven chuckled darkly next to her, but said nothing as she continued to toy with Terra's clit. Raven wrapped one arm around Terra's waist and moved her head so she could drag one of Terra's nipples between her teeth. Terra moaned and relinquished her focus on Raven's pleasure while Raven simultaneously fingered her and left several love bites along Terra's chest.

Her body ached for climax, but Terra decided that Raven should cum first tonight. She grabbed Raven's wrists and twisted her body so she was once again on top. She pinned Raven's wrists above her head and kissed Raven's nose.

"No touching." She commanded in a whisper.

Raven rolled her eyes, but she consented, keeping her hands above her head once Terra released them. Terra kissed the length of Raven's body, pausing to leave a hickey on Raven's hip while she slipped off Raven's panties. Raven let out that voiceless cry again when Terra's tongue swirled around her clit.

It was only seconds after Terra started going down on her that Raven broke the no touching rule and gripped Terra's hair to bring her that much closer. Terra didn't mind though, she pulled her arms under Raven's thighs to get better leverage and that made Raven buck her hips hard and fast against Terra's mouth. Raven's gasps for breath were fringed with moans and based on how Raven's heels were digging into her back, Terra could tell she was close.

As her whole body tightened and then suddenly shuddered, Raven gasped and dug her nails into Terra's scalp. Terra eased her down, softening the movements of her tongue and nipping the skin of her inner thigh. Raven's fingers turned gentle against Terra's scalp, coaxing Terra to come out from between her legs. Which Terra did, but at her own pace, taking the time touch and kiss any part of Raven she might have missed before.

Raven wrapped her arms around Terra and kissed her, which Terra thought was sweet, until Raven flipped them over so Terra was beneath her. Raven's fingers tangled with Terra's and lifted their hands above Terra's head. Terra narrowed her eyes at her.

"No touching." Raven smirked at her.

"Evil." Terra sighed in resignation as Raven's fingers raked down her body.

Raven chuckled, "You are sleeping with a half-demon."

"Who eats sheet metal and souls three times a day?" Terra joked, breaking the no touching rule to play with Raven's hair.

"Yes, and very, very attractive blondes." Raven punctuated each word with a kiss along the line of Terra's body.

Terra shivered at the insinuation and moaned moments later when Raven made good on it. Over and over again.

* * *

They got almost a full hour of actual sleep by the time Terra's alarm sounded. Groaning, she twisted and leaned over Raven to turn it off. Once silenced, Terra moved back to her original position where Raven's warm, pliant body pressed against hers again. Absently, she stroked the smooth skin that covered Raven's ribcage contemplating how much longer she could lay there.

"Don't you have to get ready?" Raven asked, her fingers interlacing with the ones that Terra had against her ribs.

"No." Terra yawned tilting her head to kiss the crown of Raven's, "The alarm goes off again in fifteen minutes, and that's when I have to get ready."

"Work is bad. We should ban work." Raven tucked her face in the space between Terra's shoulder and throat.

Terra chuckled in agreement, "Wanna write a note excusing me from work today?"

"You could always call-in sick." Raven mentioned as an option.

Terra scoffed, "Right, I'll call-in sick and you'll be called into action two seconds later."

Raven shifted against her, "Not if I call-in sick too."

"Superheroes can do that?"

Raven leaned her head back to catch Terra's glance, "Well, they wouldn't believe that I was sick, but if I told them that you were sick and you needed someone to take care of you, sure. That could work."

"That could work." Terra repeated to herself softly, thinking of all the things they could or could not do with a day entirely to themselves. The possibilities were practically endless.

Raven brushed her nose against Terra's, moving just close enough to Terra to remind her just how naked they both were. Raven's eyes shone with a shy kind of eagerness. She had been thinking of all the possibilities too.

Terra smiled at her and reached over her for just long enough to turn off the snooze alarm. Once that was done, Terra rolled them so Raven was comfortably below her. Raven wrapped her arms around Terra's shoulders, bringing her down for a kiss.

"You feel a little warm to me, Terra." Raven murmured, "You should probably stay home."

Terra smirked, "As long as you stay with me."

Raven kissed her once more in response, more powerfully this time so that Terra almost lost her breath. In the quick tussle they had in the sheets before they made their respective phone calls, Terra couldn't stop thinking: _a whole day with Rae, an entire day with Rae._


	11. Chapter 11

"So, how's Rachel?"

Terra grinned into her mimosa before sipping it, "Good, she's good."

Shonda didn't seem impressed by that answer. "She's good? That's it? You two have been together for almost six months and she's 'good'?"

"Well, what else do you want?" Terra asked, "We're busying working and we see each other when we can."

Shonda tapped her fingers against the bar, "How's the sex?"

Terra almost had mimosa come out of her nose. Laughing at Shonda's blunt interrogation into her love life, Terra reached for a napkin to wipe her face with.

"Is this why you wanted to have brunch with me so bad? To gossip about my girlfriend?"

"I mean, yeah and I don't want to drink alone at ten in the morning." Shonda grinned, clinking their glasses together.

"Drunk." Terra accused.

Shonda shrugged and then downed her mimosa, "So, answer the question: how's the sex?"

Terra felt cautious all of a sudden. Sex with Raven was a private affair. It was sweet and personal and Terra felt like the whole world ceased to exist while they were tangled together in bed. They could spend all day in bed together, and did that one occasion where they both played hooky. Her toes curled at just the thought of last night in particular. Terra forced down the blush that she felt in her cheeks.

"It's amazing." She said eventually, downing her mimosa before looking at Shonda, "She's amazing, and I keep thinking that it can't get better and then it does and just… Gah! It's amazing."

A smile slowly spread out on Shonda's lips, "I think Mel's in love."

"Shut-up." Terra looked away.

"No! I mean it!" Shonda insisted with a giggle, "I think you found yourself a nice little…"

"No, really. Shut-up. Hey!" Terra caught the bartender's attention, "Could you turn the T.V. up?"

The bartender complied, and both Terra and Shonda turned their attention to the bar's television; there was a breaking news report regarding an attack downtown. The Titans flashed briefly on the screen before the camera panned towards their opponent: a twenty-story tall robot.

"Great." Terra heard Shonda mutter, "One of the things I hate about this city. Someone's always trying to destroy it or take it over."

"Shh." Terra shushed as she watched attentively.

Raven didn't know it, but Terra almost always caught the bigger fights the Titans had on the news; or she at least looked it up later online. It was always interesting to compare the fighter to the lover in Raven's personality.

The Titans all but disappeared from the focus of the camera as they went off to fight; the only sign that they were actually fighting was the smoke, lasers, and starbolts. It seemed like they had the stupid thing on the ropes after a minute or so, but the robot lifted one of its arms and aimed to strike a skyscraper.

A blue blur streaked across the corner of the screen and Terra smirked. She and the camera followed Raven as she ascended and stopped to float in front of the incoming arm. A black barrier issued forth from her hands. It spread and spread against the blue sky until it formed a shield that was almost the size of the robot itself. The arm was stopped and despite its efforts to pound the shield down; Raven's magic didn't waver. Other patrons at the bar started to cheer at Raven's success and Terra grinned.

Her girlfriend was _so_ hot.

She watched with fascination as the shield warped around the robot's arm and began to seep into the metal. Soon, a series of explosions along the length of the arm left it completely useless. The cheering started again, Shonda joining in and shouting at the bartender for another round.

But the fight wasn't over. Terra watched as the robot shot something towards Raven. To her credit, she raised another, smaller shield for herself, but as the camera zoomed in it was very clear that the missile that the robot had fired shattered her shield.

Terra didn't think that was even possible.

Shield shattered, Raven took the hit and the missile detonated. The bar went quiet. The dust and debris cleared and Raven was still there; bleeding and with shards of metal sticking out of her body, but still there. For a second Terra believed she was okay, until Raven began to falter, dropping a few feet and then recovering, before she lost consciousness and hurtled toward the ground.

Everything stopped for Terra, her breathing, her heart, her blood; everything except for her girlfriend who was still falling to what looked like her death, her cloak flapping in the air like a broken wing. The camera morbidly followed her descent, the skyscraper she had fought to protect providing a clear indicator of how far and how fast she was falling.

"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No." Terra watched in terror as Raven continued to drop.

Where were the others? Why didn't they have her back? What was the point of all those damned drills if they couldn't even keep each other safe? Didn't they see that if someone didn't catch her soon that she was going to…

Raven was mere meters away from the ground when some green beast bounded towards her, snatching her from the air before she hit. The beast and Raven bounced and rolled across the cement, the beast trying to cocoon her as best as he could. They crashed into the side of someone's parked car and stopped. The green beast morphed into Beast Boy, who checked Raven's pulse.

Nothing. Beast Boy gave no indication that she was alive or if she was dead. He just scooped her up and ran out of the camera's range.

Terra turned her head and puked onto the floor.

"Mel!" Shonda half-yelled, both disgusted and concerned. "What the hell?"

"I have to go." Terra shook from head to toe and reached for her purse, pulling out an unknown amount of cash and throwing it on the bar.

She tripped getting down from the bar stool, narrowly falling into the puddle of her own vomit. Everything was blurry around the edges as if she were looking at everything through a glass of water. Shonda followed her out and tried to stop her, but every time she did, Terra just pulled away.

"Mel! Stop!" Shonda finally managed to grab her by the shoulders and physically stop her. "Where are you going?"

Where was she going? Terra blinked with the realization that she was heading towards downtown. She was heading towards Raven. But even if she could get past all the crowds that were sure to be there, get past the police lines, Raven wouldn't be there. The others would have already taken her either to the hospital or the Tower. Even if Raven was still somewhere downtown they wouldn't let Terra see her. As far as they knew; the Terra they knew once didn't exist anymore. And even if she did; why would they believe that she was Raven's girlfriend? Why would they let her anywhere near Raven?

Her girlfriend was dying or dead. And she couldn't do a damned thing about it.

"I've got to get home." Terra said belligerently as she turned on her heel.

Shonda worriedly followed her home, asking every other minute for Terra to stop and explain what was going on, but Terra largely ignored her. Her whole focus set on putting one foot in front of the other. When she got there her hands shook as she searched for her keys.

"Can you tell me what's going on now?" Shonda asked as they entered.

Terra ignored her again and snatched up the legal pad and a pen and started writing. Shonda stood awkwardly by the door; questioning whether or not she should just leave her alone to deal with whatever was wrong with her. Minutes ticked by and Shonda sighed and threw her purse on Terra's couch and declared that she was going to get a drink of water.

Emerging from the kitchen, Shonda found a piece of paper and Terra's cell phone thrust into her face.

"I need you to call this number, and as soon as the voicemail picks up, you read this. Only this. You read it and then you hang up." Terra instructed and pointed to the number at the top of the page and the following paragraph.

Shonda crossed her arms, "Who am I calling?"

"Shonda please just do-"

"No." Shonda put her foot down, "Why should I do anything for you when you won't tell me what's going on?"

Terra felt her jaw go weak, she struggled to speak as the crappy situation she found herself in continued to hit her. "Because, Rachel isn't my girlfriend's real name, and she's not a paramedic. She's… Raven." Terra paused again as tears lined her eyes, "And after being blown-up by a missile, she could be dying and I can't…"

"Raven, as in the _Titan_?" Shonda asked in disbelief, "The one with the purple hair and the creepy powers? She's Rachel?"

"Look, I get that it's new and everything, and I'll give you better proof later. But just make the call!" Terra shoved the phone into Shonda's hand.

Terra turned away and went to sit on the futon, biting her lip and hugging her knees to her chest. She tried not to listen as Shonda read the message into Raven's voicemail. She tried not to cry when she heard Shonda anyway.

Shonda joined her a minute later. Handing the phone and paper back, Shonda sat down next to her.

"Mel, why did I just confess _your_ love for Raven?" She asked.

Terra blinked, "Her friends can't know about me. I needed your voice in case one of them hears the message."

"Okay…" Shonda said with suspicion, "And they can't know because…"

"Long story." Terra replied curtly, getting up to find something to distract herself with.

Shonda watched from the couch as Terra searched the space of her own apartment for something to do. After exiting the kitchen, Terra shouted a curse and kicked at the empty air.

"She cleaned everything again."

"Who?" Shonda asked.

"Raven." Terra ground out like it was obvious, "She cleans when she can't sleep, and she stayed over last night. I told her I would get to the dishes later. But noooo. She just couldn't stay in bed with me; she had to get up, clean the entire kitchen, be sleep-deprived this morning, get herself nearly killed and then leave me with a clean kitchen and nothing to do!"

Terra kicked the air again, but her foot connected with a step-ladder she had left out and knocked it over. Shonda rose and slowly approached her as Terra righted the ladder. As Terra stood Shonda wrapped her up in a hug.

"She'll be okay." Shonda reassured.

Terra couldn't blink away the tears that came to her eyes this time. Shonda held her tighter as she started to quake. Every once in a while a real word would make it out of the waterworks; stuff like 'beautiful' and 'perfect' that paired with 'stupid' and 'reckless'. Eventually, Shonda got her back to the couch and put a blanket around her shoulders. Shonda stayed there until well after dark.

"I don't think they're going to give us any updates." Shonda said once the ten o'clock news finished.

"You should go home." Terra answered, "I'm just going to wait until I hear something."

Shonda frowned in concern, "You can't go wasting-"

"I can waste as much of my time as I please." Terra snapped, but softened at the hurt look on Shonda's face. "Thank you for looking after me, but I'm fine now. I won't go fling myself off any buildings. Promise."

Shonda asked for several reassurances on that topic, but left Terra alone in the apartment soon enough. Terra absently watched the news until she fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

The entire weekend passed before Terra heard anything. When Monday came and Terra had to trudge to work; she left her phone ringer on the highest volume and resolved to have Shonda call again that night if there was no news.

When she got back home, she had all but asked Shonda to come back over. At least, that was before she walked in and found Raven slumped on the couch.

For a moment, Terra was terrified that she was just imagining her there. Raven was just her mind picking up random memories of their time together to create a comforting image, but then Raven slowly picked up her head and glanced towards the door.

"Hi." She said.

"Rae?" Terra called, "Rae!"

Terra ran over; sliding onto the coffee table in front of her and watching as Raven struggled to sit up. Terra noticed the slight tremor in her arms and offered her hands as support. Raven's cold hands gripped tightly as she sat up. Terra frowned. Her hands were usually so warm.

"What are you doing here?" Terra demanded in a soft tone, noticing more and more injuries the longer she looked at Raven. "Why aren't you healing at the Tower?"

Raven winced as she leaned back against the couch, the burn on her throat stretching uncomfortably. "Wanted to tell Shonda that I loved her too. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the way she's always drunk, but she's the one. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Terra giggled shakily and smiled despite herself, "She's not always drunk."

"She did sound surprisingly sober." Raven's half-smile looked more like a grimace, "I'm sorry I couldn't text you that I was home safe. My communicator and a lot of bones broke with that explosion."

Terra's chest tightened at the memory of it. She felt suddenly sick, remembering the explosion, and then Raven's fall, and how helpless she had been when it happened.

Swallowing back the bile she asked, "I don't, why, how did that missile hit you? Your magic should have…"

"It was made with ent metal." Raven said, as exhaustion began to hit her. Closing her eyes and groggily opening them again, she managed to finish her explanation. "It's a rare ore that disrupts magic."

Terra's eyes widened, "Is that why you aren't healed yet? Your magic is all disrupted and now it can't heal you?"

Raven nodded with closed eyes, "Cyborg removed all the shrapnel, but my magic is… confused."

Terra wasn't sure how magic could get confused, but that didn't matter right now. Raven was alive and talking and somehow in her apartment.

"How did you even get in here?" Terra asked.

"Picked the lock," Raven mumbled as she fought to open her eyes again.

Terra's eyebrows creased in concern, her hands rubbing against Raven's to warm them up, "And how did you get out of the tower, across the bay, and then to my front door?" She asked gently.

Raven hesitated, breathing out slowly before answering. "Star dropped me off a few blocks away. Don't worry, she didn't follow me."

Terra's eyes traced Raven's body. There was a burn on her neck, the skin pink and shiny. Her exposed arms showed what seemed like a thousand cuts. Some were small, but others were huge, jagged things that took far too many stitches for her comfort. She could only guess what other injuries Raven's clothes were hiding.

"Why would you leave like this?" Terra asked with a hallow voice, "Why would you put yourself through this just to get here?"

"I needed to see you."

Terra frowned at her and let go of Raven's hands. In Terra's lap, her hands formed fists that shook. For the first time since her outburst about the kitchen; Terra felt angry again.

"What you _needed_ to do was call me." Terra seethed. "You _needed_ to tell me you were alive. You _needed to_ stay put and heal!"

Terra stood up and walked away for a moment. She pulled at her hair before she faced Raven again; who watched her tiredly.

"You should have called me back. I should have known the moment you were okay, the moment Cyborg got all of that crap out of you! Even the moment you got my message! That's when you should have called me and told me you were alive! I don't give a damn that your communicator was broken; you should have found a way to call me!"

"I got here as soon as I could." Raven defended weakly.

"You didn't need to come here!" Terra shouted, "You didn't need to risk opening up one of your wounds or exposing us to the others to tell me you were okay."

Raven glared at her and hissed as she stood up from the couch to confront her, "Whoever supplied the ent mental is still out there and now they know I'm powerless against it. Robin was going to have me moved to a safe house until the dealer was caught. It could have been months before they tracked it all down. So, no. Instead of calling you back and telling you that you might not see me again until who knows when; I got Starfire to pack me a bag and fly me out here."

It took Terra almost a minute to digest this new information; during which Raven collapsed back on the couch before her legs could give out. They eyed each other thoughtfully; Raven waited to see how Terra would react to her self-invitation to stay here for the foreseeable future, and Terra waited to see if Raven would say anything else.

Terra eventually walked back to her and held out her hands for support. "Want help getting into the bed?"

Raven nodded, and gasped audibly as Terra helped lift her off the couch. Terra apologized, but Raven assured her that she was going to be in pain no matter what Terra did. Besides Raven's grunts of discomfort, they were silent as they made their way to the bed. Once Raven was settled, Terra went and grabbed the suitcase Raven left by the door and started looking for the painkillers Raven said were there.

"Geez," Terra said as she examined a bottle, "Cyborg gets the good stuff."

Raven half-smiled half-winced at that and took the bottle from her, and popped a single pill into her mouth. As she reached to move the covers, her shirt rode up and Terra caught sight of the bruising on Raven's ribcage.

"Rae…" Terra mumbled, moving closer and lifting the hem of the shirt for a better look.

Bruising wasn't the word for all the blue and purple coloring that coated Raven's torso. With Raven's consent, Terra peeled the shirt off completely and saw that it went from her clavicle all the way down to her hips. There were several stitched-up cuts, which must have come from the shrapnel Raven mentioned. Terra couldn't find a single patch of greyish skin. How was she even alive?

"Terra." Raven brought her attention away from the injuries, "Kiss me."

"But Rae… You're so hurt." Terra said, glancing again at the destruction that missile had done, her throat constricted at the sight.

"I'm shirtless in your bed." Raven reminded her, "If you don't kiss me; I'm going to be offended."

Terra complied; pressing her lips gingerly to Raven's. Her hand cupped Terra's cheek and extended the kiss. However, Terra pulled away before she could forget herself and accidently touch one of the injuries.

"Before I get loopy on drugs." Raven said, leaning her forehead against Terra's. "I want to hear you say it."

Terra's mouth tugged into a smile briefly and she kissed her again, and again and again. She lingered longer each time, drawing reassurance from the warmth of her lips and the strength in Raven's fingers as they held on to Terra's shoulders. Raven was here. She was alive.

Eventually, she opened her eyes to see Raven staring back at her; waiting for her to say what Shonda had said in her stead. Terra smiled, choking on relief and happiness and every other positive emotion until her eyes pooled unexpectedly with tears.

"I love you. I love you a thousand times over."


	13. Chapter 13

Logistically, Terra had not completely thought through the idea of Raven staying before tacitly agreeing to it. At first, she had just focused on the fact that Raven chose her over everything else, that when it came between being with her or healing in a safe, cozy location; she chose Terra. Days into having Raven at her apartment, it was revealed that Terra was completely out of her element.

Terra's courses in sports medicine didn't cover all of the things that Raven needed from her. She grew frequently frustrated with the fact that she was so ill prepared and often cursed Starfire for not packing more medical supplies. Terra also loathed the fact that her girlfriend was constantly in bed because of injuries and not because of an active sex-life. Every bruise or cut that refused to heal quickly annoyed her to no end. And because Terra had no natural talent in bedside manner; Raven heard her complain almost constantly.

How Raven found the patience to deal with being bedridden and Terra's poor nursing skills, Terra will never know.

Terra sent a death glare in the direction of a ragged cut that ran across Raven's forearm, "Your magic isn't working."

Raven didn't look up from the book she was reading, "I've told you before; my magic is just as damaged as my body is; it's doing its best."

"Its best needs to be better." Terra sneered and glared more intensely; as if she could scare the wound away.

"Would you rather I cover up so you don't have to look at them?" Raven asked tolerantly as she flipped to the next page.

"No." Terra sighed in resignation and leaned over to kiss the recently healed burn on Raven's neck, "I just want you to get better."

Raven smirked knowingly, "You just want to jump me."

"The instant these stitches come off so does everything else." Terra replied, glaring again at Raven's injuries.

Raven pursed her lips in amusement and let her head rest against Terra's shoulder. Terra's arm eventually snaked carefully around Raven's back and the blonde realized that it was the first time since Raven's arrival that Raven felt warm to the touch. Happy with this improvement, Terra waited exactly one hour before she started complaining again.

Eleven days passed since Raven showed up on her couch, patched back together with thread and determination. It was eleven days before they could remove every stitch from her body. Despite all of Terra's impatience in those eleven days, she was unbelievably slow and patient once the last stitch was pulled out.

She kissed every still bright pink scar she could find, her fingers tracing the rough edges as she tried to avoid the surviving bruises. Terra searched out the spaces she could press into, the parts of Raven that wanted to be kissed, bitten, and sucked, the areas that could only handle a caress or two. Only in sighs and hisses did Raven tell her where these places were; like an erotic game of hot and cold.

"I wasn't too rough?" Terra began to ask afterwards.

Raven smiled into her neck, "You did fine."

"Fine?" Terra sounded indignant as she shifted to look at Raven, "I think I did better than fine."

"Okay," Raven agreed, "You did better than fine."

"Stubborn." Terra accused.

Raven kissed her slowly, drawing Terra closer until their bodies faced one another; arms and legs carefully intertwining. Terra played with Raven's hair as their foreheads rested against each other.

"Now that your stitches are out, is your magic any better?" Terra asked.

"It's healing still." Raven said, "Though, I might be able to summon it now."

"Have you tried summoning it?"

"No." Raven said sternly, "I'll try it while you're go to work tomorrow. Just in case something goes wrong."

"That is the stupidest thing you have ever said."

Raven watched in confusion as Terra disentangled herself from Raven and sat up. Leaning up on her elbow, Raven looked at her.

"I'm just trying to protect you." Raven said.

"From what?!" Terra asked in an exasperated sigh, "Your powers like me."

"That may not mean anything. My powers have never been hurt like this before. Even I don't know what they'll do when I summon them."

"So, I should let you summon them when I'm not around to help you?" Terra reached out a hand for her, "That really is the stupidest thing you have ever said."

Raven glared at the hand Terra offered. She took it begrudgingly and Terra helped her sit up. They shifted so Raven was leaning back on Terra. Sitting between Terra's legs Raven let her head fall back onto Terra's collarbone.

"If this whole building collapses in on us, don't say I didn't warn you." Raven closed her eyes.

Raven breathed in and out slowly as her mind drifted. The sound of her own breathing, the warmth from where Terra's body pressed against hers, and everything else faded from focus. It took much longer than usual to bring her magic past the surface of her body, but she did it surely enough.

She opened her eyes to see her magic manifest. Sparks of magic fluttered in the air above them, occasionally glinting a dark pink color. Raven doubted that Terra could actually see the pink aspect of Raven's magic, as one had to be in Raven's mind to see how her magic was influenced by her emotions. Watching her magic make lazy circles in the air, Raven realized that the part of her powers best associated with happiness were recovering faster than the others.

"Your magic is…" Terra murmured, "It's beautiful."

The sparks flew together and exploded in a burst of energy. The lights in Terra's apartments grew impossibly bright before blowing out. Terra grabbed the blanket and threw it over them before they were covered by the falling glass.

"You okay?" Terra asked as she carefully folded the edges of the comforter together to gather whatever glass had landed on them.

"No. Well, yes." Raven met Terra's eyes despite the sudden darkness. "I love you."

"Is that what the light show was about? Because I've kinda known that for a while now."

Raven brought the bedsheet to cover her chest, unexpectedly feeling vulnerable. "No one has ever thought my powers were beautiful before."

Terra's face softened with a sad, but complete understanding showing in her eyes. She reached forward and brushed her thumb across Raven's cheek.

"I'm going to clean up the glass and light some candles, but after that we are gonna talk about all the other things I find beautiful about you." Terra kissed her chakra. "I'll even let you argue with me about some of them."

Raven chuckled and with that sign of wordless approval, Terra went off in search of a flashlight and protective footwear.

* * *

"Rae, are you sure?" Terra asked again as she watched Raven get ready. "You just started walking around the apartment on your own yesterday."

"Like I've said the last twenty times, I'm sure." Raven said with a huff as she finished tying the laces on her boots.

Terra watched her with worry. The bruising on Raven's ribcage had all but disappeared, but Raven still wobbled if she stood too long and from what they could both guess, she still had bruising in her lungs that had yet to heal. She had no idea why Raven was so insistent that they go downtown for dinner.

"We could just order take-out." Terra reminded her yet again.

"We've been eating take-out for weeks." Raven argued with a sigh, "And I think it's inhumane to eat anymore box mac and cheese."

Terra couldn't disagree with that. Sure, Terra could cook, but she wasn't exactly a pro and she didn't like leaving Raven alone long enough to get more than a couple boxes of instant meals from the convenience store two blocks away. Raven was right though, there were only so many days a week someone could eat mac and cheese before going insane.

"Yeah, but we don't have to go all the way downtown, there's a sub shop just down the street!"

Raven sighed and stood up, refusing the hand Terra held out for her. "We're going out to a _real_ dinner. Let's go or we'll be late for the reservation."

Raven kissed her on the cheek as a way of ending the argument once and for all. Terra eyed the holorings on Raven's hands that Starfire had thought to pack. She already missed Raven's purple hair. Begrudgingly, Terra followed her out the door.

Half-way to the restaurant, Raven started leaning against Terra for support. She took up the argument to head back, but Raven refused again. Terra rolled her eyes and snaked an arm around Raven's back so she could better lean on her.

Once they reached the restaurant, Raven quickly took a seat in the waiting area. Terra didn't like the fact that she seemed out of breath, but there wasn't anything she could do about it now.

"Want me to go see if the table is ready?" Terra asked as she sat down next to her.

"No," Raven breathed out, "Let's just wait here a minute."

A moment later an older couple walked through the door. Terra blinked away her surprise once she recognized them.

"Jim? Linda?" Terra stood to hug her foster parents, "What are you doing here?"

"Excuse us for going out into public." Linda replied as she released Terra from a hug and turned towards Raven, "Rachel dear, how are you feeling?"

"Better." Raven stood up, "Thank you for asking."

"Did you guys plan this?" Terra asked looking between her parents and Raven.

"You missed the last two Tuesday night dinners." Jim told her, "We figured the only way to see you was by scheming with the girlfriend."

"Scheming is a strong word." Raven gave Terra a small smile, "I called them while you were in the shower earlier. Told them about how you've been taking care of me after the car accident I was in."

Before Terra could ask anything more about it, they were being seated. Jim and Linda filled Terra in on what she had missed from the last two dinners and Raven sat there quietly, letting them catch-up.

When Raven excused herself to the bathroom, Terra appeared just as she was drying her hands.

"Anyone else in here?" Terra asked as she entered.

Raven glanced back at the stalls and then shook her head, "Why?"

Terra said nothing as she flipped the door lock and pulled Raven into a kiss. Raven held onto Terra's shoulders as she pulled away.

"As excited as I am that we get to have sex again," Raven started, "I will not screw you in the bathroom while your parents wait for us."

Terra rolled her eyes. "I'm not kissing you for that."

Terra's fingers slipped one of the holorings off Raven, disabling the hologram and bringing Raven's purple hair back out.

"What are you doing?" Raven tried snatching the holoring back.

Terra just pulled her closer and kissed her again. Taking her time, Terra savored the feel of her, the softness of her hair and the taste of her lips. If she hadn't already realized that she was in love with Raven, now would be the moment she did. Terra smiled as she pulled away to look Raven in the eye.

"You really are the best girlfriend ever. Thank you for arranging dinner with my parents." Terra told her, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, "I just wanted to tell you that, when you looked like you."

Raven's expression softened, "You're such a sap, blondie."

"I know." Terra smiled.

They kissed one more time before Raven insisted that they were here to visit with Terra's parents, not to make-out in the bathroom.

"We can do that at home." Raven stated as she put the holoring back on her finger and the hologram resumed.

She and Terra headed back out into the dining room. When they started the conversation back up with Jim and Linda, Terra couldn't stop the shiver of warmth that surged through her. Raven had called her place home.

* * *

Raven and Terra were on the couch when the signal for Raven to come back to the tower showed-up on the news. The news report wasn't much of a report, more of a video clip of fireworks being set off at Titans Tower, something noticeable and innocent, but inexplicable to the public. It meant they had found all nth dealers in Jump, it was safe for Raven to go back.

They were still and silent on the couch for a long time, letting the news go on without much notice. Raven had regained her normal strength, so getting home on her own wouldn't be a problem, but her hesitation came from the girl whose legs were draped over her lap.

Raven glanced at Terra and found her gaze immediately. Raven already knew what Terra was going to ask before she had the chance to ask it.

"They'll worry if I'm not back by tomorrow night." Raven told her.

Terra nodded, moving her legs off of Raven's lap and shifting to lean her head against Raven's shoulder. Raven leaned her head against hers and ran her fingers through blonde strands. The contact was casual for them, but it felt like they were clinging to each other.

After being thrown into living together for more than a month, sneaking around for weekly dates wasn't enough. They had a taste of what normal relationship might look like and now they wanted more. The strains of living together, and there were plenty of them, had been softened by the fact that there was no large secret to keep, no teammates or friends to keep at bay while they tried to have a relationship. It had just been them for once.

They changed locations, deciding that the bed would be a better place to focus on taking off clothes and forgetting how to speak. It made it much easier to not focus on the fact they had only one more night in their bubble.

Gasping for air, Terra tugged on Raven's hair as she came down from her high. She felt Raven's feather-light kisses against her throat and her fingers that still made lazy strokes between her legs. Raven muttered something in her ear regarding how beautiful she was before she turned over, pulling Terra against her chest.

Terra drew patterns into Raven's bare stomach, tracing the fading scars. She leaned up and kissed Raven's cheek.

"Your turn next." She muttered.

Raven turned and kissed her with a hard desperation. Terra inhaled sharply, wrapping her arms around Raven and rolling so that Raven was on top again, their bodies fitted tightly together. When their kiss broke she pressed her forehead against Raven's and ran her hand through her hair.

"Move-in with me." Terra said, twisting Raven's hair through her fingers, "Most of the things you brought are already mixed in with mine. Just leave them here."

She misinterpreted Raven's responding silence as a rejection of the idea. She reared her head back to get a better look at her, her hands stilling.

"Unless you don't want to move-in." Terra added nervously, retracting her arms, "It was just a thought, I mean I'm sure you probably miss your room at the tower and-"

Raven interrupted with another kiss, murmuring against Terra's lips, "Of course I want to move-in."

"Really?" Terra breathed, pulling away so that they could discuss the matter, "What about that whole being-a-part-of-a-superhero-team-thing?"

"We'll figure something out." Raven said, tucking a strand of hair behind Terra's ear. "It'll be hard to do, but I'll do what I can."

Terra's hands cupped Raven's cheeks, "It might be easier if we told them."

With a sigh, Raven closed her eyes dropped her forehead down to Terra's. Yes, outing their relationship would probably be for the best. They should have done it before now, before the missile, before Raven started to sleep over at least once a week, before they had ever kissed even. Now the secret was so big and intricate that it wouldn't be received well no matter how they went about it.

They shared a look.

"After you move-in?" Terra offered.

"After." Raven decided.


	14. Chapter 14

They stared each other down from across the kitchen island. Violet-grey eyes glared at the unfeeling lenses of a domino mask. The corner of her mouth curled into a small snarl while his expression betrayed his boredom.

"No." Raven said.

Robin shrugged and broke off their staring contest as he reached for his coffee, "Fine. Good luck telling her that."

Raven glanced quickly at Starfire, who was busy competing with Cyborg in a spicy food challenge at the kitchen table. Beast Boy was rooting loudly for both of them. She turned her attention back to Robin.

"This was not a part of our deal." Raven leaned over the island towards him in hopes that their alien teammate wouldn't overhear. "I get nights and weekends off to go stay with Melanie and I remain available for emergencies. Starfire is not going to help me move-in today."

"Look, I get more than anyone about wanting to live another life outside the job." Robin told her, "And like I promised, I won't go digging or tracking you down, but Starfire insisted she go with you today."

"Insist that she stay out of it." Raven practically growled.

"I tried, but you know how she is. Just let her have her way and we'll all be happier for it."

"Easy for you to say." Raven retorted with an eye-roll, "She always has her way with you."

Robin grinned dreamily "Yes, yes she does."

Raven groaned and left to go call Terra.

She got her voicemail. Raven swore under her breath before leaving a message warning Terra about Starfire's intention to come along. Hopefully Terra would get it in time and make herself scarce until Starfire went home.

"Raven?" Starfire's voice came from the other side of her door. "Are you ready to depart?"

Raven took a deep breath and swallowed any annoyance she felt towards Starfire for the moment. She knew Starfire was only trying to be helpful and shattering lightbulbs would not make this day any easier.

"Come in." Raven answered turning away from the door to grab her bags.

Starfire walked into the room, looking at the two bags Raven had in her hands, "Is this all you wish to bring? Since there are two of us, we could bring more if you'd like."

"Two is enough for now." Raven replied, handing one over to Starfire. "I'll be bringing something each time I go."

"I see, this is very discreet of you."

"That's kinda the point." Raven said, slipping on one holoring and putting the other in her pocket. "Are you ready?"

"Oh yes!" Starfire grinned and showed Raven her own holorings.

"Okay."

It was another twenty minutes before they actually left the tower. The others insisted on an official good bye, which essentially meant Cyborg and Beast Boy clinging to Raven as they pretended to weep and moan about how much they were going to miss her. Raven thought it was rather rich of Cyborg to complain, considering he was in Steel City every other week with Bumble Bee.

"I'll be back on Monday." Raven stated, even though she knew it wouldn't have any effect.

"That's so far away!" Beast Boy cried with a fake sniffle, "Who will throw me out the window?"

"Who will throw him out the window Rae?!" Cyborg repeated, fake tears escaping his eye as he laid his head on top of Raven's. "WHO?"

Raven groaned and looked towards Robin, "Anything you'd like to add?"

"I think their question is pretty valid." Robin grinned.

Raven sighed and once again tried to wriggle from their combined grasp; upon failing to do so because Beast Boy morphed into a weeping octopus that suction-cupped her against Cyborg, Raven switched to alternative methods.

For a moment the three of them were surrounded in a cloud of black magic, in the next passing second Raven emerged from the cloud unscathed and the boys, still stuck within Raven's magic were sent bouncing around the room. Raven calmly waved her hand in accordance to where the boys went next, they bounced off all the walls in the common room, narrowly missing Robin more than once before finally being released unto the floor.

"You can take turns throwing Beast Boy out of the window until I get back." Raven informed them as she took the bag Starfire handed her.

"Give Mel a big ole kiss for us." Cyborg winked as he tried to pry the traumatized Beast Boy off the floor.

Raven rolled her eyes, but gave them a short wave before disappearing through a portal with Starfire.

They landed on the boardwalk, which was closed down for the winter, and put on the holorings so Starfire's fiery hair turned a coppery blonde color and her skin bronzed. Raven took on her normal black hair and freckles. They made their way into the city and found a bus that would take them closer to Terra's side of town. Usually Raven would have simply teleported to Terra's apartment, but the bus bought them at least an hour for Terra to get her message and plan accordingly.

"Tell me of your recovery." Starfire whispered to her as they sat down.

"Why?" Raven asked.

"Thinking of how you were hurt and without us will sadden me and keep me from floating accidently." Starfire told her.

Raven had almost forgotten about that. Starfire's flight was enabled by her joy, she was often floating because she was naturally cheerful, but she couldn't just start floating for no reason in the middle of the city; their cover would certainly be blown then.

"Mel is a horrible nurse." Raven started. "She doesn't exactly have a gentle touch. The first week or so she wouldn't shut-up about how slow my recovery was."

"Was she truly unkind to you?" Starfire asked, her eyes glowing slightly through the hologram.

"No. More annoying. Her heart was in the right place." Raven reassured.

"But she was kind to you? She gave you comfort?" Starfire asked again.

Raven thought of how many nights Terra stayed up with her just because Raven couldn't sleep for the discomfort of the injuries. Mostly Terra just talked, telling her things about her past before the Titans and things about her foster family. Other times Terra would count the cuts and the bruises; gently telling them to go away so Raven could sleep, reminding them that she loved her and she needed Raven to be healthy again. Sometimes Terra stayed awake with her all night, even when she had work the next day.

"Yes, she gave me a lot of comfort." Raven told Starfire.

"Good. I still feel very regretful for leaving you in someone else's care. Everyone was most upset that I would not disclose your whereabouts."

"You didn't know enough to disclose anything." Raven reminded her.

Starfire nodded and looked out the window in silence for a while. Out of the corner of her eye, Raven watched to see if Starfire's thoughts would wander to something happier and she might start floating, but she didn't. Raven felt guilty about that.

They got off the bus a little while later. Stepping out, Raven realized they had been let off across the street from the coffee shop where she had met Terra. The nostalgia twisted into foreboding and Raven felt a knot tie itself in her stomach.

"Is something wrong?" Starfire asked, peering at the coffee shop as Raven did.

"No." Raven tore her eyes away and started walking.

Soon they were at Terra's apartment. The uneasy knot anchored Raven in front of the door and she felt almost afraid to let Starfire in. What if Terra hadn't gotten her message? What if she was just waiting in the living room, expecting to celebrate this momentous step in their relationship and would be blindsided by Starfire?

Oh no, Raven remembered that Terra had jokingly mentioned their need to 're-christen' the apartment. What if Terra was waiting behind that door naked? She could definitely be behind that door naked.

Raven looked at Starfire and the guilt of keeping Terra a secret joined the knot. It started to spin within her as she searched for words. Raven's hands began shaking in their effort to control her magic.

"Look, Star… Melanie is…"

Starfire covered Raven's hands with hers and smiled encouragingly, "You love her very dearly?"

Raven could feel the knot start to rise into her throat. Swallowing, she nodded, "Yes, but that's not what I need to tell you…"

"That is all I need to know." Starfire interrupted her and squeezed her still trembling hands, "I care not for who Melanie is, or was."

Raven hesitated, the knot dropping back into her stomach. She searched Starfire's face before she asked, "Do you know?"

"Perhaps you should go in first, I wouldn't want to intrude upon such a special moment." Starfire said, smiling and retracting her hands, "I will wait here."

Raven carefully put her bag on the floor and got out the key. With one last glance at Starfire, she turned the key and entered Terra's apartment. It took less than second for her to realize that something was very, very wrong.

Everything faded from consciousness as Raven tore into the apartment, eyes boring into the streak of blood that ran across the floor in front of the bed.

"TERRA!"

The obvious panic in her screech brought Starfire in after her, but Raven ignored that as she flew over the wreckage that used to be the living room. She looked in the bathroom; door half-unhinged and the shower curtain torn off. Terra wasn't there, or in the kitchen, or anywhere.

"TERRA!" She yelled again.

A touch on her shoulder startled her and she turned with a fist of glowing magic that almost sent Starfire through a wall. Starfire dodged it and handed Raven the note she had found.

 _I have her. We'll be in touch._

No signature, but that didn't mean Raven didn't know who it was from. The note burned to a crisp in her hand. Looking up into Starfire's concerned face Raven growled out one syllable.

"Slade."


	15. Chapter 15

The Titans were gathered in the living room, Cyborg, Robin, and Beast Boy were not entirely sure what was going on, but it had to be bad. An hour after Raven had left to supposedly move-in with her girlfriend, she came back and promptly incinerated the TV. Literally, there was still smoke rising from the pile of what used to be an 80 inch LED flat-screen. And if that weren't enough of a tip that Raven was upset about something, the pseudo-hurricane of flying objects that swirled around them was.

Raven had already tried twice to explain what was going on, but each time a sob caught in her throat, a mixture of her fear and anger silenced her and sent a new round of objects to whip around the room. Her friends huddled closer around her, since she appeared to be the eye of whatever storm she was creating.

"What aren't you telling us, Raven?" Robin asked in his most patient big brother tone. "Whatever it is, we're here for you."

Raven didn't look at him when she brushed his hand off her shoulder. She didn't look at any of them when she turned and breathed out her mantra; calming herself enough to turn on the OPS computer. With another deep breath, she pressed a few buttons and pulled up Terra's file, an old picture of her prominent on the holographic monitor. Raven turned and focused on a spot on the far wall as she outed her relationship.

"Melanie Marakov, A.K.A. Terra contacted to me in March, a month after she regained her memories." Raven recited as if she were remembering last week's grocery list, "She was concerned about her regaining her powers as well and wanted to establish a link with us without disturbing the life she's had for the last eight years. A week or so later, she contacted me again to ask about the circumstances of her resurrection. I told her what I knew, which was nothing."

The storm around them settled, objects falling as she became more and more detached from the explanation she gave them. When Cyborg and Robin jumped on the information asking questions and giving her looks of disbelief she wasn't entirely aware of them. The only thing that managed seep through her detachment from her words was the strange, almost scary silence that Beast Boy kept. It pushed her to continue until the end.

"After living with her for such an extended period of time during my recovery, we decided to make a more permanent living situation with one another. Today when Star and I went to the apartment, it was trashed with a blood stain that I highly suspect is Terra's and a note from Slade saying 'I have her. We'll be in touch'."

With her explanation done, she dared to actually look at the others. Cyborg wasn't facing her, instead glancing over his shoulder at the still silent Beast Boy, who kept his eyes trained on the picture of Terra on the hologram, but Robin looked at her as if he had never seen her before.

"Why would you keep this from us?" Robin asked, his tone stuck somewhere between big brother and team leader, "We were her friends too! She remembers us and you decide to keep us in the dark. Why?"

Raven suddenly felt defensive, "I was respecting her wishes. She didn't want…"

"Me. She didn't want me."

Everyone zoomed in on Beast Boy, who spoke up finally. Raven felt a chill go through her as he stood up with an ironic smile on his face.

"Go ahead, Rae. Tell us. She didn't want a little green stalker again." He wiggled his ears, "And don't lie, you know I can pick up your heartbeat."

"She wanted to leave the past in the past." Raven reasoned in an attempt to spare his feelings, "She didn't want to be a Titan anymore, she just wanted to be Melanie."

Beast Boy let out a short, bark-like laugh, "So was it Terra or Melanie who fucked you?"

So much for trying to be civil. Beast Boy's red-hot resentment upset the balance of her emotions and they tipped dangerously. Before she knew it, she had Beast Boy by the collar of his uniform, her nails digging into the flesh at the base of his neck. Four red demon eyes glowered at him.

"Either way it wasn't you." Raven snapped in a ghoulish voice. "And the woman I do fuck is living her worst nightmare. Terra wakes up shaking in the middle of the night because she remembers him; how he took control of _her_ body, _her_ powers and used them to try to kill _you._ So please, bitch about your hurt feelings later."

The light in the room changed ever so slightly and that was enough for all the attention to shift to the monitor. Raven dropped Beast Boy's collar and her eyes slowly faded back to their regular number and color. Slade's masked face peered down at all of them.

"Well," His voice echoed around the room, "I see that the secret's out."

* * *

It's crazy how some things come back to you, Terra thought. It had been years since she had to actually survive something more than a rough track practice. She was almost impressed with herself for how well she handled being kidnapped.

There was a struggle of course. You weren't trained by both the Titans and Slade without your muscles remembering how to dodge and attack. Terra managed to take one sladebot down by wrapping the shower curtain around its head before snapping the neck against the tub side with the heel of her foot. She even knocked down one on her way out of the bathroom by kicking at what she remembered being a weak spot in the design.

None of that mattered though, because before she could get to her phone to dial Raven another robot appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her to the ground. Her head hit the floor and she blacked out.

So now, she woke up to a pounding at the base of skull that made her dizzy and nauseous all at once. She rose to a sitting position slowly, noticing that while her hands weren't bound, her feet were handcuffed to whatever cot she was on. Quickly she checked that, despite how the room spun, and frowned when she realized the legs of the cot were cemented into the floor. Leaning against the wall, with one hand to cushion whatever wound she had, she sighed and looked beyond the cot.

She was in a rather large cell with a single door with a tiny window with reinforced glass. Perfect. She spied a camera in the corner of the room and she glared at it through the pain and vertigo.

"Hey asshole!" She yelled before cringing at the volume of her own voice, "I'm awake now!"

The only response she got was silence. There was a pillow and a blanket next to her, the former already stained with her blood. Carefully, she ripped a section of the blanket and wrapped it around her head, and used the pillow to help keep pressure as she leaned more weight against the wall. And Gabe thought exercise science was a useless major.

She wondered what time it was, if Raven would have already gotten to the apartment and noticed she was gone. Terra hoped that there was no robots waiting for Raven when she did show up and if there were, that Raven could take them down better than she had.

Terra glanced at the camera again, she wondered if there was audio, if there was, maybe she could annoy him into coming to shut her up. Slade always did hate chit-chat.

"So, what's the plan?" Terra asked the camera, "Gonna get your revenge? I did kill you after all. How was that by the way? The death part? I like to compare notes with other people, you know, get a consensus on what death is like. Mine was a void thing, no light, no dark, no cold, no warmth. Just a lot of nothing, maybe that's because I turned to stone. You, you fucking melted and then you were brought back by a demon god."

Silence still, but the camera did move just slightly. That gave Terra some confidence to keep going.

"What is Raven's dad like? I mean, he's banished and her mom's dead so it's not like I'll ever get the chance to meet her parents. She's met mine, but you probably know that. I wonder how long you've been tailing me. Since me and Raven started talking again? Or before that? It couldn't have been before I was taken in by Linda and Jim, if you found me and took me after that, they would have reported me missing. A girl, at the right age with my looks goes missing? The Titans would have noticed that and looked into it. Especially Beast Boy, he's tireless."

Terra took a breath and decided to change the subject, if she wanted him to come to her, she'd have to dig under his skin.

"Oh, you must have loved it when Rae and I got together, must have jumped up and down for joy. You get to kill the rebellious apprentice and destroy the Titan who ran you out of town. Oh, and she did run you out of town. She told me all about it; you took advantage of her daddy issues, outed her destiny to the team, and then left Robin to fend for himself in hell. I don't blame you for skipping town, if I pissed off a demoness who could end and restart the world at will, I don't know what I would do."

She kept going, but a minute later the door to her cell opened and Slade stepped in.

"Hello Terra." He greeted.

Until this moment, her memories had been a blessing in disguise, giving her ideas on how to survive, but they didn't prepare her for actually seeing him again. After all, so many of her nightmares were of his reappearance. Her voice stuck in throat.

Slade's masked head was tilted to the side, but he made no move to get closer. "What happened? You were so… chatty a moment ago."

Terra narrowed her eyes and let every ounce of hatred for him power her voice, "How did dying suit you?"

"Poorly." His voice betrayed his annoyance.

Terra smirked, "Maybe the next time will stick."

It was impossible to tell from behind the mask, but she doubted he was exactly pleased with her cheekiness. She frowned at his lack of response. If he didn't talk, she couldn't figure out his plan.

"Are we going to stare at each other all day, or do you plan on killing me soon?"

A second of silence passed before Slade chuckled low and cold; the sound of it sending chills down Terra's spine, "Why would I kill you when you're still of use to me?"

Terra inhaled sharply. She realized now that this wasn't just about revenge. She was his leverage over Raven. She was his pawn. Again. Anger burned all through her and made her numb to the fear and pain she felt.

"I will _not_ be used by you!" Terra all but growled, lurching forward and standing on her own two feet. The chains strained against her ankles. "I am not some scared little girl anymore, you can't-"

"I can and I will." Slade said, forcing her back down onto the cot by her shoulders, his fingers digging into the muscle to the point of pain, "You're nothing but a powerless shell of what you once were. Years I've waited to see your powers reemerge, waiting to see if you'd be useful to me again, and just when I had given you up to a normal, plebian existence... You gave me the key to getting rid of the Titans once and for all. You gave me Raven."

"I gave you nothing." Terra spat defensively.

Slade brought one hand up to grab Terra's chin, "Oh, but you did. It was so easy to bug that apartment of yours and listen as Raven spilled out all of her secrets to you about her magic, how it worked, it's weaknesses, it's strengths, even how it 'likes' you. Knowing what I know now, it'll be easy to put her down. Just think Terra, even after all this time, you're still the perfect mole."

Satisfied with Terra's trembling silence, Slade jerked his hand away and went back towards the door. He stopped just short, slapping a device to the wall in front of her. Terra watched as it expanded into a holographic screen, currently showing nothing but static. She glanced warily at Slade.

"Enjoy the show." He said before slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"Tell me, Raven." Slade drawled on, "How did they take it?"

Raven seethed, the blood stain in the apartment springing to her mind, "If you've so much as…"

Slade interrupted her with a question that was directed at the rest of the team, "Did it sting? Knowing Raven kept such a large secret from you? Again?"

"Go to hell." Beast Boy bit out.

"I'll take that as a yes." Slade said smugly.

"Start the trace." Robin hissed over his shoulder at Cyborg. "What do you want Slade?"

"Shush now Robin, this is not about you." Slade silenced him, "This is about what I'm willing to offer."

"Which is what exactly?" Raven asked, glaring. "You'll give Terra back if I hand myself over? Or do I have to leave this dimension and never come back?"

"While both of those ideas are tempting, no."

"Then WHAT is it? Spit it out." Raven's hands began to glow.

"I've almost forgotten all the fun times we had together. I threaten you, you threaten back. You inevitably ruin my plans, but I get away to spoil your adventures some other day. It's quite invigorating, but it's a younger man's game."

"He's gonna monologue us to death. That's his plan." Beast Boy muttered under his breath. "Terra's not even kidnapped. He just wants us to think that so he can drone on and on."

Slade acted as if he didn't hear him, "We could do a hostage exchange, or I could force you into retirement, but you would figure a way out of that and it would, to put it crudely, bite me in the ass. So, no. I'm offering a final round to this game of ours. At the location that Cyborg has traced by now, there is a trap waiting for you. A deadly one. Sound like fun?"

They were temporarily stunned by his proposal. Slade was offering a death match? Between him and Raven? What could he be thinking?

Robin snapped out of first, "Why would Raven ever agree to such a thing? If you think we'd let her…"

"I'm sorry." Slade held up his hand, "I wasn't clear. Each and every Titan must be in attendance. Otherwise, what type of game are we playing? I kill off one titan to make her the martyr for the rest? No, it's all or nothing Titans. Only one side gets to live this time."

"If you believe we will stoop to the level of someone so insidious…" Starfire started, but was interrupted.

"We'll do it."

The other Titans turned in surprise at Robin, who stared past the rest of them at Slade, "We'll do it, but only if you release Terra first. She's a civilian now; she does not get caught in the crossfire of this."

"No. Terra remains with me until this is over." Slade shook his head.

"Prove that you have her then." Cyborg broke his silence, "Prove that you have her and I won't send your location to Homeland Security, the Pentagon, and every other defense agency that has your name on their hit list."

Raven watched as Cyborg, the one who hadn't spoken at all since she broke the news, threatened one of the most dangerous men they knew. He was so resolute in his threat that he actually pulled up a hologram of all the numbers he had for said agencies.

"We should probably call Director Faraday first. You did kill his partner after all." Cyborg added. "He'd love to drone strike the shit out of you."

Slade chuckled, as if reminiscing that one kill in particular. Raven could have sworn she saw the cruel smile beneath his mask. He leaned forward towards the screen, as if he were reaching for a button.

"Say hello, Terra."

Slade's image was quickly switched to Terra. Raven could see that she was hurt by the improvised bandage around her head and dried blood on her fingers, but she was alive and looking at whatever camera Slade had trained on her.

"Terra." Raven breathed her name like a prayer, relief turning the corners of her lips into a small smile. "Are you okay?"

Terra's eyes shone briefly when Raven said her name, but it didn't last. When Terra turned her face away from the camera and didn't say anything, it set Raven on edge.

"Terra?" Raven's voice wavered.

She turned her head back towards the camera. The grim look of determination on her face made Raven's insides turn.

"Call Faraday."

That's all Terra said before her body swung forward and threw the force of her weight back against the concrete. Her head whacked against the wall behind her. Terra's name was ripped from Raven's throat as Terra slammed her head once more. There was a sickening crunch that accompanied it this time; her skull had cracked open. Still, Terra bit hard on her lip and dug her nails in concentration and started to slowly gear up for what would, hopefully, be the fatal hit.

"STOP!" Raven screamed, squeezing her eyes shut.

And everything did. It took a couple of seconds, but Raven realized that everything had gone silent. She opened her eyes to find that everything from Terra's image on the monitor to her friends, were frozen and bathed in a faint blue. She had done it again; she had stopped time.

She didn't wait to take advantage of it. She moved quickly, unfreezing the others with a touch. Only Robin, who was there the last time she did this had any idea of what was happening.

"You can stop time?" Beast Boy looked at her with wide eyes, "Since when?"

"It was on accident." Raven dismissed it and turned to Cyborg, "Where are they?"

"Old amusement park." Cyborg said.

"Let's go." Robin nodded, "While we've still got time on our side."

Without so much as a blink Raven wrapped them all in her magic and sent them well on their way.


	16. Chapter 16

Slade returned to Terra's cell just before she could manage another blow. Slade came after Terra, grabbing her by the shoulders to keep her from rearing back against the wall again.

"You cunt." He growled inches from her face and tightened his grip. "Did you really think that would save you?"

Terra gasped for breath, but smiled at his anger. The back of her head was more than throbbing now, streaks of incredible pain went down her entire body. Terra couldn't care less though. Sure, she was going to die, either by her injuries or by Slade, but she had died before. At least she had broken his composure; broken his hold over Raven.

"What?" She asked even though it hurt to do so, "Mad that I took away your leverage?"

There was a hint of hesitation where his grip lessened just a smidge and Terra didn't hesitate. She slammed her knee into his stomach. It didn't do any real damage, but it was enough for him to release her. Gasping for breath she looked up at him. He seemed surprised. Good.

Terra wheezed out, "She's not coming. She's too smart for that."

For a moment Terra thought that she had done it. That Slade's plans were ruined. Because, for a moment Slade stood there stunned. Hell, Terra would even say that he was a little devastated.

Terra thought wrong.

An alarm screeched in the distance and Slade's stance changed from disheartened to practically _joyful_. Terra's eyes widened with understanding. Raven was here.

Slade outright laughed as he turned on his heel and threw the door to Terra's cell open.

"Feel free to continue where you left off." He said as he went through the open door.

* * *

When the Titans arrived they knew something was wrong. The amusement park remained seemingly unchanged from its state of decay. It wasn't until a bird cried out from the adjacent woods that they figured it out.

"Time's moving normally again." Robin stated as he looked around in caution, "Did you lift the spell?"

Raven shook her head, "No, something must be interfering with my magic."

The ground began to shake. The Titans jumped at the sensation and looked around for an attacker, but found nothing.

"Cyborg?" Robin asked, "Got anything?"

"It's not an earthquake." Cyborg said, taking a knee to keep from falling over. "Sensors are picking up…"

The ground beneath Raven's feet gave way. Flying upwards on instinct, Raven watched as a metal claw reached out from the ground. It circled its immediate area once, before it came careening towards Raven. The others went after it as Raven raised a shield to defend herself, but her magic shattered like glass upon impact.

"Nth." Raven realized too late as it seized her between its metal talons.

The claw dragged her back towards the ground, she screamed to the others and tried to pry herself loose, but it was of no use. Even without summoning her magic, mere contact with the metal made her feel weak. Her vision was going fuzzy just as a green gorilla landed on the claw and pried one of the talons just open enough for Raven to be pulled out.

"Hot potato!" Beast Boy shouted as he tossed Raven to Starfire.

"How are you feeling?" Starfire asked as she caught Raven.

Raven coughed as Starfire zoomed past the claw, "Weak, but fine. How's Beast Boy?"

They peered at the gorilla now turned boa constrictor as it tried to keep the remaining talons closed. The claw waved frantically until Beast Boy was sent flying. It narrowed in on Raven again and thrust itself at her and Starfire.

Starfire gripped Raven tight and flew higher and higher, until at last the claw reached its limit and couldn't follow them higher. Its talons snapped at them, desperate to grab Raven again. Starfire hovered just beyond its range.

"We shall remain here until the others find some way of subduing this machine." Starfire said with some annoyance.

Raven nodded, watching the fight between the claw and the others unfold below. Well, fight was a strong word, Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy hammered at the base while the claw strained to reach Raven. Neither party seemed any closer to their goal.

"I'll have my strength back soon." Raven told Starfire, "Then you'll be able to help the boys."

"You are sure?" Starfire's eyes betrayed her fear for the worst, "Even if we defeat this, Slade could very well have other contraptions constructed of Nth. Perhaps it would be better…"

"No." Raven growled, her anger filling in the void the Nth had left behind, "I'm staying. I can fight."

Starfire opened her mouth to insist that she take Raven to safety, but the claw retracted suddenly, rushing back towards the ground. From so far up in the air, Raven could barely make out Cyborg's lone figure at the base of the claw. Just as the claw was about to retract into the ground, its talons opened and it snatched Cyborg and brought him beneath the surface before anyone could move.

"Cyborg!" Raven cried, jumping from Starfire's arms after him.

The hole where the claw had emerged had filled in, so she'd have to dig. Falling through the air she gathered up her magic and continued twisting and twisting until her soul-self took the form of a drill. She'd follow the damn thing and find Cyborg, hopefully Terra too. She hit the ground and got as deep as seven inches before her magic drill dissipated; just like her shield. Raven landed hard.

"Raven!" She heard Beast Boy call as she was pulled to her feet. Blinking she saw what she had hit; a large, fine Nth net.

"Just how much Nth does he have?" Raven wondered out loud as Starfire landed softly next to her, Beast Boy, and Robin.

"Starfire, take Raven and go." Robin said, already prodding Raven back into Starfire's hold.

"Stop!" Raven pushed his hands away. "I'm not running away. This is my fight."

Robin looked sternly at her, "No, this is your burial ground. We've barely stepped foot in this death trap of his and it's already been filled with the only thing we've ever seen almost kill you. No, you're going and that's final."

"What? And you and Beast Boy will take Slade out? By yourselves? Don't be ridiculous." Raven spat back, her mouth quivering slightly, "I promised Terra I'd keep her safe from him. I have to stay."

Starfire grabbed Raven by the shoulder, "Raven, Robin is right. If you stay you will surely be killed." The fear had returned to her wide green eyes, "Please do not make us lose anyone else in this battle."

Raven glanced at the pile of earth where the claw used to be. Cyborg would be fine, we haven't lost him yet; Raven assured herself, but as she glanced up at the others, she wasn't so sure she could convince them of that.

"Uh, guys?" Beast Boy was glancing over his shoulder, towards the entrance of the amusement park. "We've got company."

* * *

Cyborg was released face-first onto a hard floor. Groaning, he righted himself. His sensors told him he was several yards beneath the surface and he could see a control panel just on the other side of whatever room he had landed in. Cyborg started to make his way to it before he heard Slade's voice.

"I must say, I underestimated you." Slade appeared through a previously unnoticed door. "Technopathy is such a discrete ability."

Cyborg didn't speak, instead leveling his sonic cannon at Slade's face, "Where's Terra?"

"Such concern for someone who was kept a secret from you up until an hour ago." Slade didn't blink at the cannon, instead moving past Cyborg towards the control panel. "Though, I suppose Raven isn't the only one with secrets."

Slade pulled up a recent photo of Bumble Bee at a doctor's appointment, "How far along is Karen?"

Cyborg shot at him and Slade dodged it, but that didn't save the control panel. That blew up in a cloud smoke and sparks. The door Slade had passed through flew open and was accompanied by the sounds of several other unseen mechanisms whirling to life.

Slade tutted, "That's only going to cause more trouble for your friends."

Cyborg discharged his canon again. Slade dodged again. It didn't matter that Cyborg was at close range, apparently Slade was just as mobile as he ever was. If anything, Slade seemed to take a little delight out of this; as if it were some sort of work out instead of a death match. Cyborg decided to lose the cannon and go after him with his fists.

"You know," Cyborg swung and missed, "With Raven moving out and that ring Robin carries around, I thought my friends were good, that they were happy.

"That I could go back East and raise my kid." Cyborg grunted as Slade landed a solid kick against his chest plate, but caught Slade's ankle and threw him into a wall, his katana clattering to the floor. "But you had to come along and fuck that up."

"Speaking of which," Slade pulled a circular device from his belt, "This should do that rather nicely."

The EMP clattered to the floor as it was activated. Cyborg's systems, all save his life support, failed almost immediately. He crashed to the floor, his arms in legs jerking slightly as they tried to establish communication with his body again. Slade slowly walked back to over him, as if savoring this moment. He loomed above Cyborg smugly.

"With all of your technology, for all your intelligence; somehow I always knew you would be the easiest to kill." Slade said, pulling the hammer back, "Any last words?"

Cyborg glared at him from his prone position on the floor, but something caught his eye in the background. A slow smirk showed on his face as he stared down Slade again.

"Yeah. Behind you."

Without so much as a glance, Slade fired his gun behind him. There was a grunt of pain, but not the expected thud of a body hitting the floor. Annoyed more than concerned, he turned to finish off Terra personally. He couldn't fire another shot though, not before Terra sunk his own katana between the chest plate and shoulder guard; driving the blade through his ribs.

Slade raised his gun, but throwing her body weight forward, Terra pushed the sword through the back of his body, severing his spine. He fell backward, almost hitting Cyborg as he went. Blood spurted from the wound as Terra ripped the katana from him.

"Stay dead this time." Terra said, stepping over his bleeding body to get to Cyborg.

She fell to her knees beside him. The pain in her head and abdomen burned through her now. She was dizzy and couldn't see straight, but she had just enough blood left, for now, to keep the adrenaline coursing. She had enough life left in her to help Cyborg.

"How do I help you?"

"The EMP. Break it."

Terra nodded, her eyes drooping shut momentarily before she turned to search for it. Cyborg shouted directions when the vision went out in one eye. Her fingers slipped on it once before she managed to grip the EMP tight enough to smash it against the floor.

"Systems are back on." Cyborg told her after a few seconds.

She smiled faintly, the vision in her other eye gone, or she had closed it again. She couldn't tell, she couldn't care. Slade was dead. That meant that Cyborg was safe, and that Raven was safe by association. That was good.

Terra collapsed. How fitting that she should die like this again. Kill Slade, save the Titans, die. Terra seemed to be a creature of habit. She briefly felt warm metal holding her, and heard Cyborg telling her to hang on, to just wait a little longer.

But it was time to go.

* * *

They were winning, Raven noted as she sent another squadron of sladebots hurling into the hall of mirrors, but they were barely winning. Just minutes after Cyborg had been taken by the claw, Slade unloaded what was probably his entire payload. Missiles, sladebots, trapdoors, everything that screamed death trap was unleashed on them. The only consolation was that very few of these things contained nth.

Though of course, they were already starting to feel worn down. Starfire was now fighting with Robin as he leaned on her for support. A bomb had been set off a little too close to his leg. Beast Boy was doing his best to take out whatever things contained nth so Raven could sweep the rest away with her magic, but he had taken some heavy hits of his own and was slowing down, meaning that Raven had to slow down with him.

They were winning, but for how long?

She was worried for Cyborg and Terra, taking whatever chance she had to look around and see if there was anywhere that could lead to where the claw had went, some underground entrance or suspicious-looking building. But no luck.

Raven was just about to blast some missiles headed towards Starfire when they stopped midair and dropped. They detonated, but Raven was quick to raise a shield. When the smoke settled Raven realized that even the sladebots had ended their assault, falling over as if they had been deactivated.

They all turned towards Robin. After he scanned the area, he pulled out his communicator.

"Cyborg." Robin started, "Was that you?"

"Yep. That was me." Cyborg's voice came through the crackling speaker.

Raven and the others breathed out in relief. Starfire was smiling and Robin stood a little more on his own. Beast Boy's hand clamped onto Raven's shoulder as he released a laugh, and she was glad for the added steadiness.

"Have you found Terra?" Raven asked breathlessly, Beast Boy's grip tightening in support, "Do you know where she is?"

There was silence. And then the crackle of Cyborg's response.

"Ya'll need to get here. There's a false wall about fifty feet from you to the left, take the stairs down from there.

They raced to the false wall, Raven taking the lead as they hurried down the stairs, Cyborg's instructions echoing off of the walls as they went further and further down, the only light source being Starfire's glowing fist. Raven's heart hammered against her ribcage. Cyborg hadn't said that Terra was okay. If she was okay, he would have said so. They reached the control room.

There was so much blood.

Raven moved without realizing it. Without thinking, she literally stepped on Slade's corpse to get to Cyborg and Terra. Raven took Terra from Cyborg's arms. Her slim body was slick with blood; her own, and probably Slade's by the puddle that she and Cyborg were currently kneeling in. Cyborg was talking, but Raven didn't hear him as she laid Terra's body flat against the floor and started chest compressions.

"Raven." Robin's voice came from her side, "That's not going to work."

"Of course it will." Raven said stubbornly, leaning over to breathe air into Terra's lungs. "So long as her heart is beating…"

Raven trailed off, an idea forming in her head, her hands still compressing against Terra's ribs. It would take every ounce of her energy, but it could be done. Terra could live still.

"Keep the CPR going." Raven instructed Cyborg.

"She's lost too much blood, her heart doesn't have anything to pump." Cyborg told her, but took over anyway, "She's gone."

"Just do it until I get back."

"Get back from where?" Robin asked.

Raven ignored him and focused on shifting entirely into her soul-self and plunging straight into Terra's body.


	17. Chapter 17

Every soul is different in how it represents itself. Raven's took the form of her namesake, and a strange mix of her demonic heritage and her upbringing on Azarath. Terra's soul was much different.

When Raven landed, in what could be considered the landscape of Terra's soul, she was afraid that she had somehow missed by a grotesque margin and ended up in the desert. But no, it was sunset here and it was only mid-afternoon in the real world. Everything here from the purple mountains in the distance to the scrub was tinted with golden light. The encroaching night sky showed a patch work of brilliant stars.

Raven started down the road in front of her. Terra had told her all about her long treks across the deserts of the Western United States before she met the Titans. She loved the desert; the heat, the sunsets, the life that survived under such merciless conditions.

 _"People always think deserts are just barren wastelands, but there's all these plants and animals that live there."_

Terra had told her that once while they were lying in bed together. Terra had smiled at her and twirled a strand of Raven's hair.

 _"Your hair, it's the same color as the mountains in Nevada. They're purple at a distance and every shade of red you can imagine up close."_

As Raven walked more memories sprung up from the sand, but they were Terra's memories, not hers. They were chronological, the earliest to the latest. Raven saw glimpses of Terra's brief childhood with her birth parents; their move from Markovia to the U.S. The accidental landslide that killed them. Terra drifting from place to place. Her arrival at Titans Tower. Raven didn't pay as much attention to those as the others. She was there for most of them and she didn't exactly want to see her girlfriend make goo-goo eyes at Beast Boy.

Raven enjoyed Terra's post-resurrection memories. Those were of her finding Jim and Linda and gaining brothers and sisters; the start of her normal life. The eight years uncomplicated by uncontrolled powers or a painful past.

She watched the reunion between Terra and Beast Boy through Terra's eyes. She had recognized him from the news and magazine covers, but otherwise he was just a green stranger who thought that she was this person, this superhero turned bad turned good again.

When Beast Boy had finally taken the hint and left, Terra had a momentary identity crisis. Before she was just a girl with no memories and all new… everything. Being 'Terra' meant that every imagined scenario in her head that ended in someone loving her, but not being able to take care of her and therefore gave her up, or where she went missing and eventually the years apart were too much and they stopped looking for her. Beast Boy's story didn't say that. His story said that no one had ever wanted her. His story said that she was a villain and the only people who could ever be considered friends were a bunch of super powered freaks who lived in a tower in the middle of the bay.

Raven couldn't lie. Knowing that she had been one of those freaks in the middle of the bay stung a little. But those were the thoughts of a confused and lonely high school girl; not her girlfriend. Her girlfriend thought her powers were beautiful, her girlfriend loved the color of her hair, her girlfriend killed herself to rid the world of the man who had destroyed countless lives.

She kept walking. She was starting to see Terra's college years. Raven averted her eyes when Terra's two other serious girlfriends showed up in the memories. It wasn't a matter of petty jealousy. It was a matter of how the first girlfriend had been just experimenting and dropped Terra the second she became inconvenient. It was a matter of how the second girlfriend had called Terra's little brothers 'wetbacks' as a joke.

Raven didn't need to see that. She had dealt with the emotional backlash in her own relationship with Terra.

She was getting close to the end. Terra's two seniors years were starting to show up now. No girlfriends there, just a lot of drinking nights and track meets. Raven stopped walking to watch the first time they met, the time they really met.

Terra had known that Raven frequented that coffee shop; she had heard it from one of her classmates. For two weeks she went there every day hoping to catch Raven. Once she did, even if she had no idea what to do when she saw her sitting here: reading a book a nursing a cup of tea. To Terra it had been a living scene from her past; only this time they were older, the years spanning between them, and she thought Raven was pretty.

Raven was glad to know that; glad to know Terra's attraction to her was there from the start, however small it might have been. Raven remembered watching her leave that day, waiting until she saw the last strand of shining blonde hair leave her sight before returning in vain to her book. Raven walked on, thinking for the first time that maybe that initial attraction wasn't so one-sided.

Her pace quickened, not because she didn't want to relive the progression of their friendship or the start of their relationship because she did. After today, there was nothing she wanted more than to stop and reminisce on these times. But the sooner she got to the heart of Terra's soul and anchored it to this side of the veil; the sooner she could reminisce with Terra herself.

She couldn't bear to look when the memories met the present. She shut her eyes to the kidnaping, to Terra's taunting of Slade, to her suicide. Raven walked blindly forward trying to shield herself from it.

She bumped into something. Raven opened her eyes and immediately flinched from the blinding light that had taken the place of the road and the desert. The familiar sound of Terra's laughter was emanating from the light. The giggling stopped as the light manifested into Terra's form; her whole body draped in white and glowing like candlelight.

"Are you supposed to close your eyes when you run around in people's souls?" Terra asked with a smile.

Raven trembled for a tiny moment before throwing herself into Terra's arms. She trembled still when she realized that the manifestation of her body here felt the same as her body had felt in the physical world: lean, strong, and somehow still soft. Even her hair smelled the same.

"I-I saw your body." Raven murmured into the crook of Terra's neck, "You, you're so broken."

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Terra ran her fingers through Raven's hair.

Raven pulled back to face her, "No, don't. Don't apologize. I'm sorry! I should have protected you! I promised that I would, and, and…"

Raven choked. She broke down; crying, sobbing, and shaking right in the middle of Terra's soul. She apologized on repeat for failing to save her and Terra tried to calm her down. Terra wiped the away the tears gathering on her cheeks while Raven clutched Terra's wrists.

"Rae. Rae, look at me."

Raven did, eventually, her eyes stinging and red. Terra smiled at her and pulled her closer.

"Rae, he was going to kill me anyway. I'm, I'm just glad you're okay. I didn't want you to die for me."

"I don't want you to die for me either!" Raven's voice cracked, "Cyborg, he's doing CPR until I get back; once I heal you a little, we'll get you back to the tower and it'll be okay."

Terra's smile turned sour. She ran her thumb across Raven's cheek.

"Tell Cyborg to stop."

"What?"

Terra swallowed and shook her head at Raven. There was no more fight left in her.

"You saw my body. My head's cracked open and there's a bullet in my belly. You can't heal all that. You might be able to heal something like that for yourself, but for me? It would take too long and take too much of your energy. You've told me that, remember?"

Raven shook her head, "No, no. I'll do it in small sessions. I'll start with the blood loss, then Cy can do the head wound, or the bullet; whichever is more pressing and I'll take on whatever is left. It'll be okay. You just can't cross over, once you do that I can't do anything."

"You can't do anything now!" Terra shouted, ending Raven's rambling, "I'm dead, Rae. There's no coming back this time. And that's okay."

It took a moment for Terra's words to sink in. When they did, Raven nodded numbly and pressed her forehead against Terra's.

"You're dead."

Terra bit her lip and nudged her nose against Raven's, "I'm dead."

"I-I don't want you to be."

"It's not exactly how I planned today to go, but hey," Terra's light brightened for a second, "At least I know you're safe and we get to say goodbye. Not everyone gets that."

Raven remained silent as she tried to keep from breaking down again. Terra was right: they got to say goodbye. She wasn't going to screw that up by being a complete mess.

"I'm sorry that we didn't get more time together." Terra told her.

Raven hiccupped, "Me too."

Neither one of them were sure how long they stood there, exchanging sad smiles and gentle murmurs while quiet tears slid down both their faces. They tried not to think about everything that was lost to them now; the anniversary and birthdays they weren't able to celebrate. Or how they wouldn't get to fight about dirty dishes or be able to go to Michael's wedding.

"You're gonna be okay." Terra told her, "You're gonna save lives and change the world."

Raven swallowed, "I'd rather be living with my girlfriend in a crappy apartment."

"I thought it grew on you."

"No. That would be the mold under the bathroom sink."

Terra laughed, "We took care of that weeks ago."

Raven smiled at the sound of her laughter, "It was gross and I still can't believe you let it get to that point."

Terra laughed again and brushed her lips against the tip of Raven's nose. The glow Terra emanated was beginning to dim. The CPR must not be working anymore. Their smiles faded.

"Before I go." Terra started, "Tell me something."

"Anything."

Terra's light began to flicker, "Say: I love you, Blondie."

Raven shook her head, her nose rubbing against Terra's.

"I love you, Terra."

"I love you too."

Terra kissed her then; it was weak, since her soul was starting to slip away, but Raven still felt its warmth. She pulled Terra as tightly against her as possible.

"Let me go, Rae." Terra mumbled against her mouth.

But Raven couldn't. Terra was fading away. Her heart was disappearing right from her arms. Panic began to invade Raven's senses. All Raven could think about was the emptiness that Terra would leave behind.

"No." Raven said with a chilling finality.

She stepped back. Tapping into her demonic powers, four red eyes and shadowy tendrils emerged from her being. There was a wave of her hand, and an incantation that she hadn't even thought of since her lessons from Malchior and then the tendrils of her soul formed thick, magical chains.

"Rae?" The eyes of Terra's soul widened with fear as it realized what was about to happen. "Don't do this."

"I'm saving you." Raven's voice deepened to an eerie decibel.

The chains slithered over the fading form of Terra's soul, anchoring it in place. The chains burned like a brand and Terra's soul unleashed a scream that threatened to split time and space. Raven listened to it, sickened that the darker part of her took pleasure in it.

"I'm sorry," Was all she could manage before turning away.

Raven exited Terra's body and went straight into her meditative stance. What she was going to do next was going to be one of the harder spells she had ever cast, and she needed to focus. The others asked her what was going on, but no response.

Dumbfounded, they watched as both Raven and Terra were lifted into the air. In the next second, Raven was sent flying into the wall, her head cracking open in the same fashion that Terra's had. They had all tried to keep her from hitting her head again, but something repulsed them from her body.

Only Cyborg's red eye and Beast Boy's sharp eagle-like sight caught the bullet shoot from Terra's body into Raven's abdomen. With that, Raven's body collapsed to the ground. Cyborg, Robin, and Beast Boy rushed to her, attempting to stem as much of the bleeding as possible, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

Starfire was the only one to look towards Terra. She watched Terra silently as her friends worked to revive Raven. After a moment, Terra's chest began to rise and fall. Starfire glanced at Raven, whose chest did no such thing.


End file.
